Tag: George Floyd

GUILTY: Jury Reaches Verdict In Derek Chauvin Murder Trial

by Breck Worsham, posted in crime, law

MINNEAPOLIS — Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has been found guilty of murder and manslaughter in the May 25, 2020 death of George Floyd.

Jurors tapped to determine Chauvin’s fate deliberated for less than 12 hours before reaching a verdict of guilty on all three charges of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

Chauvin, who showed no emotion as the verdict was read, stood up quickly after the judge ordered his bail revoked and offered his hands to be handcuffed before he was led out of the courtroom. His conviction marks only the second known time a police officer has been convicted of murder in Minnesota.

Chauvin faces 40 years for second-degree murder, 25 years for third-degree murder and 10 years for second-degree manslaughter. Those sentences would likely be served concurrently, not consecutively, since they are all for the same crime.

Fourteen jurors heard the case, which was followed closely around the world. The jury consisted of two white men, two multiracial women, three black men, one black woman, and four white women. 

During jury selection, several prospective jurors expressed concern about their safety after the verdict is delivered. The judge has ruled their identities will remain anonymous until he deems it safe to release their names as part of the public record.

George Floyd’s family won a record civil settlement from the city of Minneapolis while the trial was ongoing, resulting in a $27 million payout.

‘PHASED WITHDRAWAL’: Feds To Pull Out Of Portland As Riots Rage On, Says Oregon Governor

by Breck Worsham, posted in Uncategorized

PORTLAND — Federal agents sent in by President Donald Trump to secure the city will begin a “phased withdrawal” from Portland, Oregon Governor Kate Brown said Wednesday.

The agents, who have frequently clashed with protesters, will begin leaving the city limits on Thursday.

The news comes the same day that Trump warned the “Beaver State” that either Oregon officials get a grip on the rioting that has shook the city in recent weeks or the federal government will.

“Either they’re gonna clean up Portland soon, or the federal government is going up, and we’re gonna do it for them. So either they clean out Portland — the governor and the mayor, who are weak — either they clean out Portland or we’re gong in to do it for them,” Trump told reporters Wednesday before departing on a trip to Texas.

In a statement, acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf said a plan negotiated with Brown over the last 24 hours includes a “robust presence” of Oregon State Police in downtown Portland to quell the violence.

“State and local law enforcement will begin securing properties and streets, especially those surrounding federal properties, that have been under nightly attack for the past two months,” Wolf said.

The riots, which began shortly after the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police, have led to multiple deaths, hundreds of injuries and millions of dollars in property damage.

‘TOTALLY NUTS’: Giuliani Calls Out Left’s Efforts to Defund Police

by Breck Worsham, posted in Uncategorized

WASHINGTON– Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani said Tuesday calls by Democrats to defend police departments are “totally nuts.”

While acknowledging police officers need better training, Giuliani said defunding law enforcement would only lead to disaster.

“They don’t want us to have police?” Giuliani, who also serves as President Donald Trump’s personal attorney asked during an interview with Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo. “Each one of them said some silly things about terrorism, right? Have we forgotten September 11? Have we forgotten the Boston Marathon? Have we forgotten all of the attempts to attack us in New York that the New York City Police Department and the FBI stopped?”

The answer, he said “is to increase the number of police in this country.”

However, Giuliani said he would be “a fool” to deny there are “bad apples” in law enforcement.

“I put 70 bad apples in jail when I was a mayor,” said Giuliani. “I know it a lot better than these jerks who are talking about ridiculous solutions. I know how to catch them. I know how to put them in jail.”

“They need better-trained police (with) intensive training in courtesy, professionalism, and respect,” Giuliani said. “I’m calling for actually a very intense course. You review that every three years … you put it in their evaluation.”

Giuliani then pointed out that Derek Chauvin, who has been charged in the death of George Floyd, had nearly 20 documented infractions, something that Giuliani said was beyond the pale.

“That is a very poorly run police department,” said Giuliani, pointing out there were no supervisors on the scene. “That should never have been allowed to happen.”

A PLANNED ATTACK: Race Riots Have Been In The Works ‘For Months’ Says Intelligence Report; Antifa To Blame

by Breck Worsham, posted in Uncategorized

WASHINGTON — Antifa’s plan to carry out an anti-government insurgency has been in the works since last November, intelligence reports have uncovered.

According to a report published by The Washington Times, the organization, which President Donald Trump recently declared a domestic terrorist group, has been planning race based riots since the kick off of the 2020 election campaign.

“Antifa’s actions represent a hard break with the long tradition of a peaceful political process in the United States,” former National Security Council staff member Rich Higgins told the Times. “Their Marxist ideology seeks not only to influence elections in the short term but to destroy the use of elections as the determining factor in political legitimacy.”

Joe Myers, a former Defense Intelligence Agency official and counterinsurgency expert, concurred with Higgins’ comments to the Times, adding, “President Trump’s election and revitalization of America are a threat to Antifa’s nihilist goals. They are fomenting this violence to create havoc, despair and to target the Trump campaign for defeat in 2020.”

According to the report, Antifa leaders used the death of George Floyd, a black man who died shortly after being taken into custody by Minneapolis police, as the call to launch riots in cities throughout the U.S..

“In recent days, our nation has been gripped by professional anarchists, violent mobs, arsonists, looters, criminals, rioters, antifa, and others,” Trump said Monday in response to the riots.

The White House National Security Council followed the president’s comments by announcing it is investigating the coordinated plots and gathering intelligence from cities affected by the riots throughout the past week.

“The president and the attorney general want to know from [FBI] Director [Christopher] Wray what the FBI has been doing to track and dismantle and surveil and prosecute antifa,” White House National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien told the Times. “And if that hasn’t been happening, we want to know what the plan is going forward.”

TRUMP TO NEW YORK: ‘Bring In The Guard!’

by Breck Worsham, posted in Uncategorized

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Tuesday urged New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to call in National Guard troops to help combat rioters in the wake of escalating violence throughout the state.

Protests Monday night near Rockefeller Center quickly escalated to violence as rioters smashed windows and looted various stores while upstate an SUV plowed into a group of officers during a demonstration in Buffalo.

In a tweet referencing the high rate of infections and deaths from Covid-19 in the state’s nursing homes, the president, a native New Yorker himself, urged Governor Cuomo to “act fast.”

“The lowlifes and losers are ripping you apart. Act fast! Don’t make the same horrible and deadly mistake you made with the Nursing Homes!!!” Trump tweeted.

During a press conference Tuesday, Gov. Cuomo put the blame solely on the shoulders of the NYPD, who he said failed in their duty to protect the public from looting and other criminal activity and on the city’s mayor, Bill de Blasio, who he claimed did not take the situation seriously enough.

“The NYPD and the mayor did not do their job last night,” Cuomo said. “I believe the mayor underestimates the scope of the problem.”

During Cuomo’s press briefing the governor also took a swing back at President Trump, who he said was putting undue focus on the riots so that “he doesn’t have to talk about the killing” of George Floyd.

During an address Tuesday, Trump said that he himself will order National Guard troops into New York State if state and local officials refuse to act on the violence. Federal law allows presidents to order such actions, but officials in New York have argued that the president has no authority to do so against the will of local governments.

‘JUSTICE FOR FLOYD’: Tensions mount after unarmed black man dies in encounter with police

by Breck Worsham, posted in Uncategorized

MINNEAPOLIS — Hundreds of protesters took to the streets of Minneapolis Tuesday evening to express their outrage after 46 year old George Floyd died after what witnesses described as a deadly encounter with police.

The unarmed Floyd was arrested Monday evening after officers responded to a call regarding an alleged forgery in progress. Cell phone video captured by bystanders shows Floyd being handcuffed and pinned to the ground as one police officer presses his knee against his neck. Several times Floyd could be heard pleading with officers that he was in pain and couldn’t breathe. Shortly after, Floyd, who had appeared to stop breathing, was taken to a nearby hospital and declared dead.

According to Minneapolis police, the encounter between Floyd and police occurred just after 8 p.m. Monday, when officers were called to the 3700 block of Chicago Avenue South after store officials claimed Floyd had attempted to use forged documents at Cup Foods.

A police spokesperson said officers located Floyd sitting in a parked vehicle and that he appeared intoxicated as officers ordered him to exit the vehicle.

“After he got out, he physically resisted officers,” police spokesman John Elder told reporters early Tuesday. “Officers were able to get the suspect into handcuffs and officers noticed that the man was going into medical distress.”

But a video posted to Facebook by witness by Darnella Frazier appears to contradict some of the officer’s claims that Floyd had resisted arrest. During the 9 minute clip Floyd repeatedly groans and says he can’t breathe while being held face down on the pavement.

“He’s not even resisting arrest right now, bro,” one bystander tells the officer and his partner, in the video. “You’re f—ing stopping his breathing right now, you think that’s cool?”

The four officers involved have been fired as a result of the footage.

“It is the right decision for our city, the right decision for our community. It is the right decision for the Minneapolis Police Department,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said at a news conference with Police Chief Medaria Arradondo. “We’ve stated our values, and ultimately we need to live by them.”