WTH? Feds Were Planning to Arrest Derek Chauvin in Court if the Jury Cleared Him

Credit: Reuters

In another shocking bit of information indicating that Derek Chauvin is being politically persecuted, it has been revealed that the Department of Justice was secretly planning to arrest Derek Chauvin in court had he been cleared of murdering George Floyd.

According to a report from the Star Tribune, Justice Department officials had spent months gathering evidence to indict the ex-Minneapolis police officer on federal police brutality charges if the jury did not find him guilty.

“If Chauvin were found not guilty on all counts or the case ended in a mistrial, they would arrest him at the courthouse, according to sources familiar with the planning discussions,” the report states. “Now, with Chauvin’s state trial out of the way, federal prosecutors are moving forward with their case. They plan to ask a grand jury to indict Chauvin and the other three ex-officers involved in George Floyd’s killing — J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao — on charges of civil rights violations, a source said.”

The report continues on to explain that under the contingency arrest plan, the Minnesota U.S. Attorney’s Office would have charged Chauvin by criminal complaint, which does not require a grand jury. This way, they could arrest him immediately, and ask a grand jury for the indictment later. They were worried about riots, should he be found not guilty or a mistrial be declared — essentially meaning that he is being prosecuted due to mob rule.

“Prosecutors want to indict Chauvin in connection to two cases: for pinning Floyd down by his neck for more than 9 ½ minutes in May 2020, and for the violent arrest of a 14-year-old boy in 2017. In the latter case, Chauvin struck the teen on the head with his flashlight, then grabbed him by the throat and hit him again, according to court documents,” the report says. “The other three ex-officers would be charged only in connection with Floyd’s death.”

Chauvin was found guilty on all three murder and manslaughter counts. He will be sentenced on June 25 and faces up to 40 years in prison.

 

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