Following a script deployed before, and in the shadow of COVID lockdowns and a looming presidential election, activists branded the death of George Floyd as a result of racist policing, and rioted in the streets of Minneapolis and many other American cities. Politicians aided and abetted this call for disorder. Media ignored or downplayed the resulting violence; journalists even pressured their papers’ editorial staff to follow their narrative.

Chauvin was charged with second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. The court denied Chauvin’s request for a change of venue (i.e., request to move the trial to a different location), despite the charged atmosphere in post-riot Minneapolis. Chauvin was convicted and sentenced to 22½ years’ imprisonment. After the trial, it was revealed that one of the jurors (Juror No. 52, Brandon Mitchell) had participated in a pretrial protest and worn a T-shirt emblazoned with the words “Get Your Knee Off Our Necks.” Mitchell had previously answered “No” to questions in the juror questionnaire asking whether he had heard about the case or participated in demonstrations. An alternate juror (Lisa Christensen) subsequently told a reporter, “I did not want to go through rioting and destruction again and I was concerned about people coming to my house if they were not happy with the verdict.” His appeal is pending.

Federal charges were also brought for violating Floyd’s civil rights. Chauvin pleaded guilty to the federal charges and was sentenced to serve 21 years for them.