ROGER KIMBALL:
By the way, I say that FBI report ‘revealed’ this extenuating evidence, but it was evidence that the prosecution withheld from public scrutiny until the end of October 2020, by which time Minneapolis and many other cities across the country had been torched by Black Lives Matter rioters demanding ‘justice’ for George Floyd.
Here’s something else. Although Chauvin’s restraint looks brutal, it was actually part of the standard Minneapolis police protocol for dealing with persons exhibiting ‘excited delirium,’ a dangerous, often fatal, condition brought about by too much fentanyl with one’s afternoon tea. According to the medical examiner, Chauvin did not appear to have obstructed Floyd’s airway — Floyd would not have been able to speak if he had — and Floyd did not die from strangulation. Bottom line, George Floyd died from the effects of a self-administered drug overdose, effects that might have been exacerbated by his interactions with the police, i.e., his exertions in resisting arrest. For their part, the police were trying to help Floyd. It was they who called the ambulance because they recognized that Floyd was in extremis.
That’s not what we have been told, is it? The defense has received permission to air the trial publicly. Presumably, all this evidence will be presented. How would you like to be a juror at that trial? How easy will it be to find impartial jurors in Minneapolis, where the city council, in the wake of Floyd’s death, actually voted to abolish its police department? If you were a juror, would you dare to return a ‘not guilty’ verdict?
Not that I think it is likely to come to that. As Powerline’s Scott Johnson reports, ‘At the behest of the mob, Gov. Walz lifted responsibility for the prosecution from the office of the Hennepin County attorney and assigned it to Minnesota attorney general Keith Ellison.’ Take a moment to look up Keith Ellison. Savor his connections to the Nation of Islam and other radical groups. Then note that he has more than 130 lawyers in his employ. For the trial of Derek Chauvin, Johnson observes, Ellison has also tapped four prominent outside attorneys, who have offered their services pro bono.
On his side, Derek Chauvin has a local criminal defense lawyer named Eric Nelson. That appears to be it. As Johnson drily observes, ‘If you’re looking for Atticus Finch in the case, Nelson will have to serve.’
So what will happen? Minneapolis is endeavoring to prepare for any eventuality. The area around the courthouse is beginning to look like Nancy Pelosi’s Capitol, surrounded by metal fencing, concrete barriers, and razor wire. The local jailhouse has been fortified and heightened security measures are being put in place around the city.
If you’d like to see photos of yesterday’s rally at a heavily boarded up Minneapolis Government Center plaza, and the far-left messages spray-painted on those boards, James Lileks has you covered.
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