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Sharpton addresses the crowd following his release

NEW YORK (CNN) -- A leaner Rev. Al Sharpton walked out of a New York jail Friday after serving nearly three months of prison time for protesting U.S. naval bombing exercises on a Puerto Rican island.

The civil rights leader walked out of the Metropolitan Detention Center 30 pounds lighter and saying he was more committed as an activist, according to his attorney.

Chanting "No justice!" and "What do we want?" to a crowd of supporters, Sharpton thanked God and reminded the group of Puerto Ricans opposed to U.S. military training on Vieques.

"Let's not forget why we came," he said. "We went into this jail struggling and we're going to come out struggling."

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Sharpton was arrested on May 1 for trespassing at a Navy firing range on Vieques. He was given a 90-day prison sentence because he had a prior civil disobedience offense on his record. He received three days off for good behavior.

Sharpton is expected Friday to lay flowers at a memorial for a Brooklyn family, which lost several loved ones when an allegedly drunk off-duty police officer ran them down.

"He feels that he is coming out strong and committed to the causes for which he went to jail, and those authorities who thought they may deter his activism, they were wrong," said Sharpton attorney Sanford Rubenstein. "His prison stay has just reaffirmed his commitment to stop the bombing in Vieques."

Sharpton had some high-profile partners in protesting Navy bombing on Vieques. Environmental lawyer Robert F. Kennedy Jr., son of the late Sen. Robert Kennedy, was sentenced to 30 days in prison for trespassing, as was labor leader Dennis Rivera.

During his stay, the 46-year-old activist was visited by numerous politicians, including Sens. Charles Schumer and Hillary Clinton, both New York Democrats.

This weekend, Sharpton has planned several speeches and rallies to discuss the heated battle for mayor of New York City. On Monday, at the Washington Press Club, the longtime political and civil rights leader, known for flamboyant speeches and protests, will announce he is forming an exploratory committee to pursue his run for the presidency in 2004. Sharpton unsuccessfully ran for the Senate in 1992 and 1994 and for mayor in 1997.

Two prominent New York pollsters said in an Associated Press report that even if Sharpton never won office, he has gained enough standing to influence the fate of others.

"Not all that many years ago the best people shied away from Sharpton, but he has remade himself and is still in the process," said Maurice Carroll, who heads the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "He is smart, quotable and clearly wants to be the Jesse Jackson of New York, if not the Jesse Jackson of the world."

Lee Miringoff, a pollster at Marist College, said Sharpton's clout can be measured "in terms of the politicians who have been visiting him in jail -- a steady trail of current and would-be office holders." They include Jesse Jackson, Sen. Hillary Clinton and former Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson.