Black Lives Matter Minnesota made clear Friday that it expects a conviction in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who is accused of murdering George Floyd.
Protesters at a march from the Capitol building to the Cathedral of St. Paul called for convicting “killer cops” and said “we have to destroy the system.”
“We’ve got this whole trial to go through and hopefully they do the right thing, even though it don’t look like it with all the fencing, all the concrete, all the barbed wire, all the National Guard and security in the government center. It don’t look like they’re building up to do the right thing,” said one speaker.
“If they do the right thing, we still got three more killer cops to go,” he added, referring to the three police officers who were with Chauvin at the time of Floyd’s death last May.
A list of demands was issued to accompany the “Justice for George Floyd” march. The first demand on the list reveals that Black Lives Matter expects Chauvin to “be convicted and sent to prison.”
“The jury selection process in the United States is still racist. We demand a Black woman and man whose ancestors descend from slavery be on the jury,” states the second demand.
Other demands call for “community control of the police,” a “national database of killer cops,” slavery reparations, and proper compensation for the families of those who have died while in police custody.
Chauvin’s murder trial began with jury selection earlier this month and opening arguments are expected to kick off March 29. Minneapolis officials have faced criticism for announcing a $27 million civil settlement with Floyd’s family in the middle of the trial, even though the settlement hasn’t been finalized.
Anthony Gockowski
Anthony Gockowski is Editor-in-Chief of Alpha News. He previously worked as an editor for The Minnesota Sun and Campus Reform, and wrote for the Daily Caller.
