Using her social media, a Black Lives Matter activist promised riots if former Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin is not convicted of murder in the death of George Floyd.
“If George Floyd’s murderer is not sentenced, just know that all hell is gonna break loose,” Maya Echols said on her TikTok account. “Don’t be surprised when buildings are on fire. Just sayin’.”
https://twitter.com/disclosetv/status/1379401279345205248
Echols’ post was widely circulated on social media after a decidedly good day for Chauvin’s defense. She has nearly half a million followers on TikTok.
Chauvin is accused of second-degree and third-degree murder in Floyd’s death, but has not been convicted. Sentencing happens after a conviction or guilty plea. But Echols seems convinced that Chauvin is already guilty of murder, despite the fact that his trial is not finished.
In a now-infamous video that has been circulated worldwide, Chauvin can be seen kneeling on Floyd’s upper back or neck area during an arrest, a contentious point for attorneys in the case.
Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo took the stand Monday, testifying that an officer placing a knee on the neck of a suspect is not a trained technique.
But when asked if body camera footage from another officer on the scene showed Chauvin’s knee on Floyd’s back, not his neck, Arradondo was forced to agree. Prosecutors disputed that characterization, and claimed that Chauvin only moved his knee to Floyd’s back when an ambulance arrived.
During cross-examination, Arradondo also agreed with Chauvin’s attorney Eric Nelson, who read from the Minneapolis Police Department’s (MPD) training handbook. The handbook says that in use-of-force cases, whether the force used by the officer was justified “must be judged from the reasonable officer on the scene, rather than with the 20/20 vision of hindsight.”
Minneapolis and other cities around the country faced months of vicious rioting at the hands of Black Lives Matter and Antifa after Floyd’s death, during which businesses were destroyed, and at least 11 died.
The city is bracing for impact regardless of the outcome of Chauvin’s trial, and the National Guard deployed there indefinitely.
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Pete D’Abrosca is a contributor at The Minnesota Sun and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Minnesota Rioters” by Lorie Shaull. CC BY-SA 2.0.
