President Joe Biden urged the public to ignore agitators seeking to exploit the conviction of a former police officer for the murder of George Floyd as he called on the country to unite in confronting systemic racism.
A jury in Minneapolis found Derek Chauvin, 45, guilty on Tuesday of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and manslaughter after hearing from 45 witnesses in a trial that lasted three weeks. He faces up to 40 years in prison.
Biden said the murder, captured on video, had “ripped the blinders” off for the whole world to see America’s “systemic racism,” which he described as a “stain on our nation’s soul.”
“Nothing can ever bring their brother, their father back,” he said of Floyd’s family. “But this can be a giant step forward in the march toward justice in America.”
DEREK CHAUVIN FOUND GUILTY OF MURDERING GEORGE FLOYD
That should be Floyd’s legacy, he said.
“A legacy of peace, not violence; of justice, peaceful expression of that legacy are inevitable and appropriate but violent protest is not,” he said in a White House address.
“And are those who will seek to exploit the raw emotions of the moment, agitators and extremists who have no interest in social justice, who seek to carry out violence, destroy property, and fan the flames of hate and division … do everything in their power to stop this country’s march toward racial justice,” he said.
“We can’t let them succeed,” he said.
The video of Floyd’s death, pinned beneath Chauvin’s knee for more than nine minutes, horrified the world. It kicked off a long summer of violent protests across the nation as police clashed with protesters in city after city.
The jury’s verdict was read in a city on edge. The courthouse was protected with concrete barriers and razor wire, and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz had already declared a state of emergency.
All around the country, cities were preparing for outpourings of anger.
Biden had been due to deliver remarks on his jobs agenda on Tuesday afternoon. Instead, officials said he and the vice president watched television in his private dining room as the jury delivered its verdict.
President Biden and VP Harris call the Floyd family after the GUILTY verdict! Thank you @POTUS & @VP for your support! We hope that we can count on you for the police reform we NEED in America! ✊? pic.twitter.com/cg4V2D5tlI
— Ben Crump (@AttorneyCrump) April 20, 2021
He then telephoned Floyd’s brother Philonise.
“Nothing is going to make it all better, but at least there is now some justice,” he told him, as well as promising action on police reform.
Vice President Kamala Harris spoke before Biden, urging the Senate to pass the George Floyd Act to hold law enforcement agencies accountable.
“This work is long overdue,” she said. “America has a long history of systemic racism. Black Americans and black men in particular have been treated throughout the course of our history as less than human.”
Hours ahead of the verdict, and while the jury was deliberating, Biden took the unusual step of weighing in on the case. He generated immediate controversy by saying he was praying for the “right verdict.”
“They’re a good family, and they’re calling for peace and tranquility no matter what that verdict is,” he said. “I’m praying the verdict is the right verdict.”
“I think it’s overwhelming, in my view. I wouldn’t say that unless the jury was sequestered now,” he said.
Yet a day earlier, the judge overseeing the case had asked politicians to respect the independence of the courts.
“I wish elected officials would stop talking about this case, especially in a manner that’s disrespectful to the rule of law and to the judicial branch and our function,” said Judge Peter Cahill.
Floyd died last May when Chauvin used his knee to pin him by the neck to the ground.
Onlookers pleaded in vain for the white officer to release the 46-year-old black man.
A video of the murder sparked a long, hot summer of protest in America and around the world.
Prosecutors used expert witnesses to build a case that Chauvin caused Floyd’s death when he knelt on the black man’s neck for more than nine minutes, even after his victim became unresponsive. Their most powerful evidence came from video captured by onlookers who pleaded with the officer to ease up.
“Use your common sense. Believe your eyes,” said prosecutor Steve Schleicher. “What you saw, you saw.”
The defense argued that the officer acted reasonably and that Floyd died from the effects of illegal drug use and a heart condition.
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The jury took 10 hours to find Chauvin guilty on all three charges.
