The Rev. Al Sharpton took a knee in Minneapolis on Monday alongside members of George Floyd’s family and their attorney, Ben Crump, ahead of the trial for Derek Chauvin.
Sharpton also spoke at a vigil for Floyd on Sunday evening, led by several national civil rights activists and leaders. Sharpton, the founder and president of the National Action Network, said the prayer service served as a show of support for the Floyd family.
Surrounded by members of Floyd’s family, activists, and members of the press on Monday, Sharpton called on people to join him in kneeling for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, the approximate amount of time Chauvin, a former police officer, left his knee on Floyd’s neck during his arrest on May 25, a local Fox affiliate reported.
Ahead of the opening statements at Chauvin’s trial, Sharpton called Floyd’s death “a lynching by knee.”
“We’re taking a knee for 8 minutes and 46 seconds,” Sharpton said during the event. “We want you to think of, during that time, why Chauvin didn’t in that time get his knee up.”
Rev. Al Sharpton, Attorney Ben Crump and George Floyd’s family take a knee for 8 minutes and 46 seconds to mark the length of time that Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kept his knee on George Floyd’s neck. pic.twitter.com/MbxXE1wgDn
— CBS News (@CBSNews) March 29, 2021
FLOYD FAMILY ATTORNEY PREDICTS CHAUVIN DEFENSE WILL ‘TRY TO ASSASSINATE’ FLOYD’S CHARACTER
Chauvin is charged with unintentional second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and manslaughter. Proceedings are scheduled to begin Monday morning, and the trial is expected to last about four weeks.
Sharpton also told MSNBC that Floyd’s family wants to set a tone “that all they want is justice. They’re not looking for violence. The violence has been done on George Floyd.”
Sharpton added that the trial for Chauvin is about his duty as an officer but also about the “American criminal justice system. Chauvin is in the courtroom, but America is on trial.”
A jury of 14 people will hear the case starting on Monday. Eight members of the jury are white, and six are black or multiracial. Two of the 14 will be alternates.
Crump said he believes Chauvin’s defense will attempt to use evidence of the drug fentanyl found in Floyd’s system after his death as a way to “assassinate his character,” adding, “The thing that killed George Floyd was an overdose of excessive force.”
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Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, allegedly used a counterfeit $20 bill last summer and was subsequently apprehended by police. While being detained, Floyd became unresponsive after he was pinned to the ground by Chauvin’s knee pushing into his neck before for nearly 9 minutes.
