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Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has called on President Donald Trump to issue a federal pardon to Derek Chauvin, the Minneapolis police officer convicted over the killing of George Floyd on May 25, 2020.
“I strongly support Derek Chauvin being pardoned and released from prison,” the MAGA congresswoman posted on X on Wednesday, adding her voice to a growing MAGA push for his release. “George Floyd died of a drug overdose.”
Chauvin, now 49, was one of four officers who arrived on the scene after the owner of the Cup Foods convenience store in Minneapolis’s Powderhorn Park neighborhood claimed that Floyd, 46, had attempted to pay for cigarettes with a counterfeit $20 bill.
The officers who arrived on the scene handcuffed Floyd. During the arrest, Chauvin knelt on the suspect’s neck for almost nine minutes as he lay face down in the street, ignoring Floyd’s warnings that he could not breathe until he finally lost consciousness.
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Coroners ruled Floyd’s death a homicide the following day, sparking huge Black Lives Matter demonstrations around the world, with tensions exacerbated by eyewitness videos of his final moments circulating on social media.
The medical examiner noted that fentanyl intoxication and recent methamphetamine consumption may have increased the likelihood of Floyd’s death.
Floyd’s death occurred during Trump’s first term.
“All Americans were rightly sickened and revolted by the brutal death of George Floyd. My administration is fully committed that, for George and his family, justice will be served. He will not have died in vain,” the president said at the time.
Chauvin was charged with unintentional second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter. He was convicted on all three charges in the spring of 2021.
He was sentenced to concurrent state and federal sentences of 22 ½ years and 21 years, respectively, with appeals to the Supreme Courts of Minnesota and of the United States denied.
He is currently being held at FCI Big Spring in Texas; he was moved there after being stabbed by a fellow inmate while incarcerated at FCI Tucson in Arizona in November 2023.
On Tuesday, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz responded to rumors that Trump could pardon Chauvin as the fifth anniversary of Floyd’s passing approaches, reminding the public that any pardon would only apply to the inmate’s federal sentence. His state sentence would still stand.
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“If Donald Trump exercises his constitutional right to do so, whether I agree – and I strongly disagree with him – if he issues that pardon we will simply transfer Derek Chauvin to serve out his 22 and ½ years in prison in Minnesota,” the former Democratic vice presidential nominee said.
“So, no indication whether they’re going to do it or not, but I think it behooves us to be prepared for it. With this presidency, it seems like that might be something they would do.”
State Attorney General Keith Ellison also addressed the prospect in a statement, saying: “Derek Chauvin murdered George Floyd in front of the whole world.
“Trump has no power to pardon Chauvin’s state conviction. None. A pardon of Chauvin’s federal conviction would return him to Minnesota to serve the rest of his sentence in state prison.
“The only conceivable purpose would be to express yet more disrespect for George Floyd and more disrespect for the rule of law.”
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Minneapolis Community Safety Commissioner Toddrick Barnette said: “We’ve heard the same rumors as everyone else – but the bottom line is that Derek Chauvin would remain behind bars serving his state sentence even if his federal charges are pardoned.
“To be clear, we have no credible intelligence about any pardon or planned disruptions here in Minneapolis. Since 2020, we’ve overhauled our emergency management plans and out of an abundance of caution are planning for any eventuality.”
Both the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association and the Minnesota Department of Corrections likewise said there was nothing at present to substantiate the rumors.
Trump’s intervention in the case is far from impossible, given that he moved to pardon more than 1,500 people who participated in the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol within days of returning to office in January.
MAGA allies Ben Shapiro, Elon Musk, and Charlie Kirk have previously backed calls for Chauvin’s release, and conservative pundit Tim Pool, for one, responded positively to Greene’s endorsement, writing on X: “Derek Chauvin did nothing wrong.”
As it stands, Chauvin can expect to be released from federal prison in November 2037. He would be released from state custody in December 2035 but placed under supervision until 2043.
