Rep. Maxine Waters’s first reaction to the guilty verdict in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd was not one of joy.
“I’m not celebrating. I’m relieved,” Waters, a California Democrat, told reporters soon after the jury announced its verdict.
Her initial reaction to the verdict came about an hour after House Democrats defeated a resolution from Republican Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy to censure Waters for comments she made about the trial.
Waters joined protests in Minnesota over the weekend and told protesters to get “more confrontational” if Chauvin, who is white, was not found “guilty, guilty, guilty” in the death of Floyd, a 46-year-old black man whose death in May 2020 prompted protests, as well as some riots, with many calling for racial justice and police reform.
DEMOCRATS BLOCK MOVE TO CENSURE WATERS OVER CHAUVIN TRIAL COMMENTS
The jury on Tuesday reached a decision that Chauvin was guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter.
Floyd died after being arrested on suspicion of using a counterfeit bill. Chauvin, 45, was seen placing a knee on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes as Floyd repeatedly said he could not breathe. He could now face decades behind bars and perhaps the rest of his life. The judge announced that his sentencing trial would take place in eight weeks.
Judge Peter Cahill, who was overseeing the trial, said on Monday that Waters’s call to get “more confrontational” could have ramifications on an appeal.
“I’ll give you that congresswoman Waters may have given you something on appeal that may result in this whole trial being overturned,” Cahill said in response to comments by a defense attorney.
Before the verdict was read on Tuesday, Waters told the Capitol Hill press pool that she did intend to put centrist Democratic members in a tough spot with her comments.
“I love my colleagues, and they love me. I don’t want to do anything to hurt them or hurt their chances for reelection. I will make sure that they are comfortable with my kind of advocacy so that we can all be sure that we can do the right thing,” Waters said.
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Other Democratic members and staff watched the verdict being read in the Sam Rayburn room, with some releasing small squeals of excitement as the guilty verdict was read.
