“All you had to do was arrest three more.”
Wednesday, June 3
This is a developing story… Check back for possible updates…
Minnesota attorney general Keith Ellison is expected to officially announce Wednesday that he is charging the three remaining officers involved in last week’s killing of George Floyd with aiding and abetting a murder and is elevating the charges against officer Derek Chauvin, already under arrest, to second-degree murder.
“Overdue but necessary justice,” tweeted Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.)
Attorney General Ellison is charging ALL officers involved in George Floyd’s killing with aiding and abetting murder, and charging Derek Chauvin with second degree murder.
Overdue but necessary justice.
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) June 3, 2020
The Floyd family, in a statement through their attorney, Ben Crump, called the news of the charges a “bittersweet moment.”
FAMILY’S REACTION: This is a bittersweet moment. We are deeply gratified that @AGEllison took decisive action, arresting & charging ALL the officers involved in #GeorgeFloyd's death & upgrading the charge against Derek Chauvin to felony second-degree murder. #JusticeForGeorge pic.twitter.com/jTfXFHpsYl
— Benjamin Crump, Esq. (@AttorneyCrump) June 3, 2020
The news of the charges comes after at least 9,300 U.S. civilians have been arrested due to their participation in an ongoing nationwide uprising against police violence and brutality sparked by Floyd’s murder.
All you had to do was arrest 3 more. https://t.co/Bv9liSx8LM
— Fred (@WaywardWinifred) June 3, 2020
The tally comes from the Associated Press, which has been tracking the arrests around the country.
Floyd’s killer, officer Derek Chauvin, was arrested on May 29 for the May 25 murder and charged with third degree murder. The Star Tribune reported early Wednesday afternoon, citing people familiar with the decision, that Ellison will raise Chauvin’s charge to second-degree murder and charge the other three officers—Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane—with “aiding and abetting” the murder.
Ellison is expected to make an announcement on that decision later in the day.
It’s unclear if the arrests will calm an angry nation. Protesters around the country turned out Tuesday evening for the eighth consecutive night of demonstrations over Floyd’s murder.
As the New York Times reported:
While demonstrators in many cities defied curfews, they did so peacefully.
They sang “We Shall Overcome” at the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn and a large crowd tried to cross over the Manhattan bridge in defiance of a curfew. Outside Wrigley Field in Chicago, crowds chanted “Hands up” as they raised their arms to the sky. In Los Angeles, even as hundreds were arrested throughout the city, a crowd gathered outside the home of Mayor Eric Garcetti, who earlier in the day had joined the demonstrations and taken a knee as he listened to pleas. On a bridge in Portland, Ore., hundreds lay face down, hands behind their backs, for a “die in” intended to emulate the death of George Floyd.
Mr. Floyd, a 46-year-old black security guard, died after his neck was pinned under a white police officer’s knee for nearly nine minutes in Minneapolis last week. The officer has been charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. The killing, captured on video, was the spark for the outpouring of anger and anguish expressed in demonstrations in more than 140 cities for over a week.
Activist group CodePink tweeted that the struggle was ongoing.
“This is just the beginning,” the group said. “We must continue demanding #JusticeForGeorgeFloyd! #BlackLivesMatter.”
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