After hearing three weeks of testimony and deliberating for just shy of two days, jurors found former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin guilty in the death of George Floyd.
He pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter, after a viral video circulated of Chauvin pinning Floyd, an unarmed Black man, to the ground with his knee for more than nine minutes on May 25, 2020. Chauvin was found guilty on all charges by the jury. He was remanded into custody, and will be officially sentenced in eight weeks.
While the jury was sequestered during their deliberations, President Joe Biden weighed in on the trial, saying he hoped “the right verdict” would be reached. “I’m praying the verdict is the right verdict, which is–I think it’s overwhelming, in my view,” Biden said during a press conference.
Following the guilty verdict, other prominent voices took to Twitter to express their thoughts. While the general consensus was joy, many noted that there is still work to be done. “A guilty #verdict. But this fight for justice is not over,” Kerry Washington tweeted. “There is more fight ahead of us. But RIGHT NOW please take CARE of yourself. And let’s take care of each other. Prayers and love to the family of #GeorgeFloyd.”
A guilty #verdict. But this fight for justice is not over. We have a lot of work to do. There is more fight ahead of us. But RIGHT NOW please take CARE of yourself. And let’s take care of each other. Prayers and love to the family of #GeorgeFloyd.
— kerry washington (@kerrywashington) April 20, 2021
Guilty Guilty Guilty… No one wins.. George Floyd is still gone..and finally someone was responsible… Derek Chauvin
— Whoopi Goldberg (@WhoopiGoldberg) April 20, 2021
The evidence of our eyes met at last by accountability in the eyes of justice. #DerekChauvinTrial
— Stacey Abrams (@staceyabrams) April 20, 2021
3! ??
— Ava DuVernay (@ava) April 20, 2021
Following the news, “Bail Revoked” and “Rot In Hell” began trending on Twitter, with the latter outpacing the former by 4,000 tweets at the time of publication. When a defendant’s bail is revoked, it means the money used for bail purposes is forfeited to the government.
You can read more reactions on the verdict below.
BREAKING: Police officer Derek Chauvin found guilty of murdering George Floyd. On all counts.
Justice is done. pic.twitter.com/Bh34ZZzP7d— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) April 20, 2021
Bail revoked guilty on all counts
– Derek chauvin is just a start
The George Floyd police reform act that law must pass.
The insurrectionist in gop including Donald trump -who are as much of a white supremacist must face justice –— John Cusack (@johncusack) April 20, 2021
History https://t.co/xjcUYNidNF
— Cardi B (@iamcardib) April 20, 2021
Derek Chauvin is a convicted murderer.
That’s good. But this is a not a case of a few bad apples. The system itself is broken. Let’s find the courage as a nation to fix it.
RIP George Floyd.
— Julián Castro (@JulianCastro) April 20, 2021
And this isn’t even a celebration. #GeorgeFloyd was still murdered before our eyes. He’s gone. His family will never be made whole.
And how many #DerekChauvin’s are there in the world & on the police force. There’s more than ONE bad apple.
But this enough for this moment. ❤️
— yvette nicole brown (@YNB) April 20, 2021
We still have to fight for justice yall. Remember that “we voted Obama in yay racism is gone!” feeling? Yeah…let’s learn from that. I’m happy for the Floyd family tho. Especially his daughter. But there is still a slew of mountain to climb.
— Dr. Love (@questlove) April 20, 2021
GUILTY. GUILTY. GUILTY. GUILTY. GUILTY. GUILTY. GUILTY. GUILTY. GUILTY. GUILTY. GUILTY. GUILTY. GUILTY. GUILTY. GUILTY. GUILTY. GUILTY. GUILTY. GUILTY. GUILTY. GUILTY. GUILTY. GUILTY. GUILTY. GUILTY. GUILTY. GUILTY. GUILTY. GUILTY. GUILTY. GUILTY. GUILTY. GUILTY. GUILTY. GUILTY.
— Natasha Rothwell (@natasharothwell) April 20, 2021
Chauvin found guilty on all three counts. Minneapolis served up justice on all counts. https://t.co/E1vzU7rarZ
— Maria Shriver (@mariashriver) April 20, 2021
Derek Chauvin: guilty on all 3 counts
Now let’s do the entire system of policing in this country.
— W. Kamau Bell (@wkamaubell) April 20, 2021
No person should be above the law. If you transgress the law you should be held accountability.
Derek Chauvin- GUILTY
— Emmanuel Acho (@EmmanuelAcho) April 20, 2021
I was on pins and needles waiting on the verdict of Derek Chauvin to come in. To hear these jurors find him GUILTY on a three charges, I can exhale for now!
Justice, this time, has been served. But there is so much work that remains to be done!#DerekChauvinTrial #Guilty
— Sherri Shepherd (@sherrieshepherd) April 20, 2021