Free Republic

The reports of hateful and violent posts on Facebook started pouring in on the night of May 28 last year, soon after then-President Donald Trump sent a warning on social media that looters in Minneapolis would be shot. It had been three days since Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on the neck of George Floyd … […] But it wasn’t until after Trump posted about Floyd’s death that the reports of violence and hate speech increased “rapidly” on Facebook across the country, an internal company analysis of the ex-president’s social media post reveals. “These THUGS are dishonoring the memory...

The Minnesota Supreme Court has denied former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin's request for a public defender. The request is related to his expected appeal of his conviction in George Floyd's murder. Court documents show Chauvin was denied representation by a public defender on Sept. 14 and then appealed that denial to the Minnesota Supreme Court. At the time he appealed the denial, Chauvin stated his debts exceed his assets, leaving him to represent himself because he wouldn't be able to cover attorney's fees. According to the state Supreme Court, a defendant would be unable to obtain private counsel if...

Derek Chauvin plans to appeal his conviction and sentence for the murder of George Floyd — arguing the judge abused his discretion in critical points in the case, according to documents filed Thursday. The former Minneapolis police officer said in the court filing that he intends to appeal on 14 grounds. One claim made by Chauvin in the notice to appeal is that Judge Peter Cahill abused his discretion by denying him a request to move the trial out of Hennepin County because of pretrial publicity.

Derek Chauvin and three other former Minneapolis police officers will be arraigned in federal court Tuesday on charges of violating George Floyd’s civil rights. Chauvin, Thomas Lane, J. Kueng and Tou Thao were indicted in May and charged with failure to provide Floyd, 46, with medical care as Chauvin choked him to death by pinning him to the ground with his knee for about nine minutes. Floyd’s murder was caught on video and his death sparked worldwide protests and demands for police reform. The four ex-cops will appear by videoconference at their arraignment and are expected to enter not-guilty pleas....

Attorney General Keith Ellison, whose office led the prosecution, published a call to action in the Washington Post, thanking activists for putting "pressure" on the system. . Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was sentenced to 22½ years in prison Friday for the murder of George Floyd, an outcome that wouldn’t have been possible without sustained mob pressure, various activists and attorneys admitted. Floyd’s May 25, 2020 death kicked off the worst period of destruction in Minnesota history and gave new life to the Black Lives Matter cause in the Twin Cities. Since Floyd’s death, riots have become a regular...

The massive federal coronavirus bailout will help fuel an unprecedented 40.8 billion dollars of spending by Pennsylvania's state government in the new budget year... The Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York writing the British Ambassador to the US this week regarding the case of Alta Fixler (Fixsler)... Four portions of Australia's largest city where some 450-thousand people live going into COVID lockdown... At Noon today local time (5 AM Eastern US Time) the indoor mask order in effect for Israel again... In Germany today a knife attack in the southern city of Wurzburg. Three dead, five seriously wounded......

An attorney for George Floyd’s family said Friday that family members were feeling anxious ahead of a sentencing hearing for former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin. Family attorney Ben Crump told The Associated Press that family members were feeling “anxious and tense.” Floyd’s brother Philonise, his brother Terrence and his nephew Brandon Williams plan to make victim impact statements at Chauvin’s sentencing. Philonise Floyd often occupied the Floyd family’s assigned seat in the socially distanced courtroom where Chauvin’s trial was held. He also testified as part of prosecutors’ efforts to humanize George Floyd to the jury, recalling their childhood in...

MINNEAPOLIS — A Minnesota judge denied a request from Derek Chauvin's attorney for a new trial hours before the former Minneapolis police officer is to be sentenced for murder in the death of George Floyd. Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill, who will sentence Chauvin Friday afternoon, also denied the defense's request for a hearing on jury misconduct. Prosecutors have asked that Chauvin receive 30 years in prison. His lawyer is seeking probation. The presumptive sentence for a person like Chauvin, who had no criminal history, is 12½ years for second-degree murder. Cahill could sentence him to as little as...

Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis cop convicted of murdering George Floyd, is being sentenced in the closely watched case Friday. What was Derek Chauvin convicted of? The jury found Chauvin, 45, guilty of all three charges against him — second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter — on April 20. The verdict came on the second day of deliberations following nearly three weeks of testimony from 45 witnesses — 38 of them called by the prosecution.

George Floyd’s death one year ago caused a national level of rioting and vandalism and even deaths. It also put something called “excited delirium” in the spotlight. George Parry at The American Spectator, Andrea Widburg at American Thinker, and Jack Cashill (at both venues) all have written insightfully about the political, scientific, and legal issues related to the death of Mr. Floyd and the prosecution of Officer Chauvin. The bottom line, if one seriously considers the medical evidence, is that Derek Chauvin did not murder George Floyd. I have done a video demonstration with two male subjects that shows that...

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison is looking to hear from people or businesses who suffered adverse social or economic effects from the murder of George Floyd in the community. The AG’s Office will collect written community impact statements on its website through Thursday that could be provided to the court and defense counsel and may become part of the public record. "It is uncommon to solicit community-impact statements in this way, but this is an uncommon case," Ellison said in a statement. A jury convicted ex-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin of second- and third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter back in...

A Florida police officer was shot in the head while escorting a man out of a car — sparking a frantic manhunt and putting an entire county on lockdown, authorities said. The 26-year-old officer, who was not immediately identified, was shot late Wednesday in Daytona Beach while conducting a “proactive patrol,” where he encountered Othal Wallace, 29, sitting in a 2016 Honda with California tags.

Prosecutors in Minnesota are seeking a 30-year prison sentence for former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in the murder of George Floyd. Prosecutors wrote in a court filing on Wednesday that the sentence — twice the upper end of the recommended sentencing range — would “properly account for the profound impact” of Chauvin’s actions on Floyd’s family and the community. “Defendant cruelly murdered Mr. Floyd in public view. His actions traumatized Mr. Floyd’s family—Mr. Floyd’s daughter, his siblings, his cousins, his aunts and uncles, his nephews and nieces. None of them will ever be able to see their beloved ‘Perry’...

A federal grand jury just indicted the other three officers present at George Floyd’s arrest. Why is the Justice Department involving itself in this local police matter?Last month, when Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of second- and third-degree murder, most Americans believed his sentencing would end a year-long national ordeal. Footage of Chauvin restraining George Floyd as he died was widely publicized last summer, with a predictable—and memorable—result. Although Chauvin was convicted by a jury, that decision was pre-empted by the constant menace of burning cities, gruesome threats of violence, massive corporate marketing campaigns, public statements by members...

The Biden Administration telling Israel to "de-escalate" as Palestinians fight Israeli police, US unemployment up last month and California's population down since last year but first... Three people arrested for entering the Ada County Courthouse in Boise, Idaho today when they didn't wear masks... Under 40 year olds to be offered an alternative to the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine in the UK... Germany objecting to a US proposal to waive patent protections for COVID-19 vaccines... The World Health Organization granting emergency approval for China's Sinopharm coronavirus vaccine... Pfizer now wants the Food and Drug Administration to grant full approval of its...

A federal grand jury has indicted the four former Minneapolis police officers involved in George Floyd’s arrest and death, accusing them of violating the Black man’s constitutional rights as he was restrained face-down on the pavement and gasping for air, according to indictments unsealed Friday.The three-count indictment names Derek Chauvin, Thomas Lane, J. Kueng and Tou Thao. Specifically, Chauvin, Thao and Kueng are charged with violating Floyd’s right to be free from unreasonable seizure and excessive force.

Derek Chauvin and three other former Minneapolis police officers involved in George Floyd's death were indicted Friday on federal civil rights charges. The three-count indictment alleges Chauvin, Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane deprived Floyd's rights when they saw him lying on the ground "in clear need" of medical care, but "willfully failed to aid Floyd, thereby acting with deliberate indifference to a substantial risk of harm."

The human symbol of why Derek Chauvin needs a new trial in the death of George Floyd is now holding up his hands, backing away, and claiming, hey, don’t look at me, I don’t even remember that George Floyd t-shirt I wore to a Washington, D.C., rally. But wait, there’s more. Juror #52, Brandon Mitchell, a podcaster and basketball coach, was outed recently as a BLM supporter who went to Washington, D.C., for the anniversary of the March on Washington – an event whose speakers featured (naturally) Al Sharpton, along with George Floyd’s brother and sister and other people who...

Yesterday, we called out Morning Joe for mentioning George Floyd six times but failing to breathe a word about the Chauvin trial juror who wore a BLM hat, and a T-shirt emblazoned "Get Your Knee of Our Necks" to a protest rally in Washington DC that Al Sharpton's organization had billed as the 'Commitment March: Get Your Knee Off Our Necks,' and at which several members of the Floyd family spoke. Before being selected as a juror, that person, Brandon Mitchell, denied to the judge having attended a demonstration about police brutality. Morning Joe continued its unconscionable blackout of the...

The attorney for Derek Chauvin, Eric Nelson, has filed motions for a new trial and for a hearing to impeach the verdict based on jury misconduct (a so-called Schwartz Hearing under Minnesota law). Nearly a dozen bases are cited for a new trial, but not the recent revelations about juror Brandon Mitchell wearing a BLM t-shirt at a rally and opining that people should get on juries “to spark some change.”The Associated Press lists the reasons the motions cites for a new trial:Nelson cited many reasons in his request for a new trial. He said Judge Peter Cahill abused the...