In response to rumors originating on the far right that President Donald Trump might pardon former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin after he was convicted of murdering George Floyd, the city’s police chief says he and state officials are putting a plan in place to handle any civil unrest should a pardon come down from the White House.
Chauvin is serving consecutive state and federal sentences for kneeling on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes. The 49-year-old was convicted of unintentional second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter. He later pleaded guilty to depriving Floyd of his rights in the federal civil rights case.
The video showing the minutes Chauvin unrelentingly pressed on Floyd’s back and neck was the launchpad for global demonstrations in the summer of 2020, and reignited calls for comprehensive police reform in the United States.
Chauvin is currently serving a 21-year federal sentence for violating Floyd’s civil rights as well as a 22½-year state sentence for murder.
Now, as the nation inches closer to Floyd’s fifth death anniversary, calls are mounting to have Chauvin pardoned for his federal crimes.
In March, Daily Wire founder Ben Shapiro launched an online petition to garner support to secure a federal pardon for Chauvin.
His movement gained steam with one social post from tech billionaire Elon Musk, who wrote, “Something to think about,” after reposting a clip of Shapiro advocating that Chauvin be federally pardoned. Shapiro insisted that Chauvin didn’t kill Floyd, but that the 46-year-old died from a fentanyl poisoning, which directly contradicts a medical examiner’s findings that his death was a homicide.
The same month Shapiro started the petition, Trump was asked by White House reporters about pardoning Chauvin, to which the president responded, “No, I have not heard about that.”
In May, Georgia congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene echoed Shapiro’s calls to pardon Chauvin and also amplified false claims that Floyd died of a drug overdose.
In recent days, Minnesota officials have responded to the rumors that a pardon could be on its way.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison has made it clear that even if Chauvin were granted clemency, his state prison sentence can not legally be vacated.
“He still owes Minnesota 22½ years, and he’s gonna do it either in Minnesota or somewhere, but he’s not getting out,” Ellison told MSNBC’s “Politics Nation.”
When asked whether Chauvin could be pardoned, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz told reporters, “There’s no indication yet whether they’ll go through with it, but I think it’s wise for us to be prepared. Given this presidency, it seems like something they might do.”
Now, Minnesota Police Chief Brian O’Hara has weighed in, restating Walz’s sentiments to Walz that the city and state should be prepared in the case a pardon happens.
“I was in D.C. last week, and I’ve literally had police chiefs from around the country ask me that question. I’ll tell you what I’ve told them, there is absolutely no credible information we have to suggest that’s going to happen,” O’Hara said, per Fox 9. “Of course, because there’s all these rumors, we’ve been in communication with our partners at the state, at the federal level to ensure that we and all of our partners are prepared in the event something like that happens, and it causes some type of civil disturbance. To be clear, there is no credible information that something like that will happen.”
Speaking about the viral cellphone footage showing the moments leading up to Floyd’s death, O’Hara said: “We all saw that video, we all knew it was wrong, including the president five years ago. If you’re not familiar with that he said, Google it. Google his reaction to that video.”
Although Trump is free to issue pardons for federal crimes, he cannot vacate Chauvin’s state conviction in Minnesota. Even if Chauvin’s federal sentence were pardoned, he would stay in prison to serve the remainder of his state sentence.
