FBI agents who knelt with Black Lives Matter protesters following George Floyd&#8217;s death have been reassigned to less coveted positions, according to insiders briefed on the matter.
The agents were photographed kneeling with Black Lives Matter protestors during the 2020 protests in Washington D.C. following George Floyd&#8217;s death.
The agency was deployed by then-Attorney General Bill Barr in June 2020 to protect federal buildings and aid in crowd control efforts in the streets as local law enforcement were being <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/03/politics/federal-authorities-washington-dc/index.html">overwhelmed</a> by BLM protestors.
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NEW: FBI agents photographed kneeling during George Floyd protest have been removed from their positions &#8211; CNN <a href="https://t.co/yCVX2a3rK9">pic.twitter.com/yCVX2a3rK9</a>
&mdash; Breaking911 (@Breaking911) <a href="https://twitter.com/Breaking911/status/1917649459124560262?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 30, 2025</a></blockquote>
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FBI officials declined to explain the reassignments, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/30/us/politics/fbi-agents-2020-protests.html?smid=url-share">stating</a> to the New York Times, “it is our standard practice to decline to comment on personnel matters,” with many inside the bureau viewing them as demotions.
This action, first <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/30/politics/fbi-agents-blm-protest/index.html">reported</a> by CNN, aligns with President Donald Trump&#8217;s campaign promise to root out what he has called &#8220;woke&#8221; and politicized elements within law enforcement.
The kneeling incident occurred when agents assigned to protect federal monuments were confronted by protesters, with the agents claiming that their tactic prevented potential violence.
Photos of the incident sparked fierce internal backlash inside the FBI, with some agents being ostracized by colleagues who viewed the gesture as politically charged, and put the agents at a tactical disadvantage if confrontation did occur.
While former bureau leadership determined the agents hadn&#8217;t violated policy, the incident became a focal point for Trump and the GOP, who cited it as evidence of politicization within the law enforcement agency.
Legal experts note that while the FBI can transfer employees at will so long as they maintain the same pay and position, the agents could potentially pursue legal options if their reassignments were motivated by reprisal or discrimination.
Many Americans expressed frustration in 2020 when various police departments and federal agencies appeared to take political stances during nationwide protests that caused an <a href="https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/nicholas-fondacaro/2020/09/16/abc-nbc-spike-mostly-peaceful-protests-leaving-2-billion?utm_source=chatgpt.com">estimated</a> $1-2 billion in property damage and resulted in dozens of deaths.

Police Shooting Death Of Young Black Man Near Minneapolis Sparks Protests

FBI Pushes Out Agents Who Knelt With BLM Protestors In 2020

Black Lives Matter

George Floyd

kash patel

Trump Administration

In the third episode of his groundbreaking series “The Case for Derek Chauvin,” Daily Wire editor emeritus Ben Shapiro revealed how the politically-connected former Chief Medical Examiner of Washington, D.C., dramatically influenced the Hennepin County Medical Examiner to add &#8220;neck compression&#8221; to George Floyd&#8217;s autopsy report despite initial findings that showed &#8220;no physical evidence suggesting that Mr. Floyd died of asphyxiation.&#8221;
“The facts are straightforward: Baker’s initial <a href="https://www.hennepin.us/-/media/hennepinus/residents/public-safety/medical-examiner/floyd-autopsy-6-3-20.pdf">autopsy</a> was conducted on May 26th, 2020, and his subsequent draft autopsy report found ‘no physical evidence suggesting that Mr. Floyd died of asphyxiation’ and ‘no medical indications of asphyxia or strangulation,’” Shapiro said.
“Then, Roger Mitchell enters the picture.”
Mitchell, a Democrat activist who also served as a D.C. deputy mayor, <a href="https://spectator.org/chauvin-did-not-murder-george-floyd/">called</a> Baker twice following the initial autopsy findings, according to <a href="https://www.mncourts.gov/mncourtsgov/media/High-Profile-Cases/27-CR-20-12949-TT/Exhibit105122021.pdf">documents</a> filed in the case of Tou Thao, a former Minneapolis police officer and Chauvin&#8217;s colleague.
During these calls, Mitchell allegedly told Baker, &#8220;You don&#8217;t want to be the medical examiner who tells everyone they didn&#8217;t see what they saw. You don&#8217;t want to be the smartest person in the room and be wrong.&#8221;
The pressure campaign intensified when Mitchell threatened to publish an op-ed in The Washington Post critical of Baker&#8217;s findings.
&#8220;[Mitchell] said there was a way to articulate the cause and manner of death that ensures you are telling the truth about what you are observing on the body and via all of the investigation. Mitchell said neck compression has to be in the diagnosis,&#8221; the memorandum states.
By June 1, 2020, Baker had added &#8220;neck compression&#8221; to his official diagnosis, transforming the case against the officers. This revised finding enabled Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, assigned to the case by Governor Tim Walz just one day earlier, to bring an additional second-degree murder charge against Chauvin.
Dr. Baker&#8217;s private concerns about external pressure were revealed in former prosecutor Amy Sweasy&#8217;s sexual harassment <a href="https://mncourts.gov/mncourtsgov/media/High-Profile-Cases/27-CR-20-12949-TT/TT-SweasyDiscriminationCharge.pdf">lawsuit</a> deposition, where she detailed conversations with Baker in which he expressed anxiety about the case. According to Shapiro, this information further confirms the political nature of the prosecution.
As Shapiro notes, “Dr. Baker confided to Hennepin prosecutor Amy Sweasy, ‘What happens when the actual evidence doesn’t match up with the public narrative that everyone’s already decided on? This is the kind of case that ends careers.’”
The appearance of blackmail aside, Shapiro continues, “Worse yet, the Hennepin County prosecutors met with Dr. Baker to review his draft autopsy report without detectives or special agents present, violating protocol.”
“After being assigned to Chauvin&#8217;s case by Governor Tim Walz one day prior, Minnesota AG Keith Ellison utilized the revised autopsy report to bring an additional second-degree murder charge against Chauvin,&#8221; Shapiro adds. &#8220;All of these revelations, despite qualifying as Brady material, were buried at trial and were never properly disclosed to Chauvin’s defense.”
In the episode, Shapiro explores how “the detailed autopsy findings provide significant reasons to determine that Derek Chauvin did not receive a fair trial, and his conviction for murder was not supported by the medical evidence beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Watch the full episode <a href="https://youtu.be/4KrY4XR88Ws?si=eiI7O3suA_jFK5n7">here.</a>

TCFDC

The Chauvin Trial’s Dirty Secret: Shapiro Exposes D.C. Influence On Floyd Autopsy

Ben Shapiro

Derek Chauvin

Minneapolis

Police Brutality

Riots

Daily Wire Editor Emeritus Ben Shapiro&#8217;s campaign to secure a presidential pardon for former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin continues this week with the premiere of his new series, &#8220;The Case for Derek Chauvin.&#8221;
&#8220;This is going to be a comprehensive, multi-episode breakdown of the case — all the facts, all the evidence, all the political context,&#8221; Shapiro says in the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/bss-ep-2160">first episode</a> of the five-part series, which premiered today.
&#8220;We’re going to tear this case apart piece by piece, and by the end, I think you’ll agree with me that President Trump should immediately pardon Derek Chauvin for his federal convictions. This is The Case for Derek Chauvin.&#8221;
On March 4, Shapiro launched a petition to pardon Chauvin. The website, <a href="https://get.dailywire.com/pardon-derek/">PardonDerek.com</a>, has already attracted more than 50,000 signatures. The petition has gained momentum in Trump&#8217;s circle, with Elon Musk <a href="https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1896975871904505884">calling</a> the idea of a Chauvin pardon “something to think about.” Conservative commentator Charlie Kirk also <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dduWmpo7ioY">hosted</a> Shapiro on his podcast in support of the effort to pardon Chauvin last week.
The first episode, titled “The Background,” features Shapiro delving into how his own position on Chauvin has evolved after reviewing evidence beyond the viral video that sparked nationwide protests.
“Like everyone else in America, I first saw the tape of Derek Chauvin and George Floyd on May 25th — what appeared at the time to be nine minutes of a police officer’s knee on George Floyd’s neck. And given the tape alone, I drew the same conclusions most Americans drew.”
“And then, over time, new evidence emerged. A lot of it. And I realized that I had done something absolutely wrong: I rushed to judgment,” Shapiro explains in the first episode. “As new information was released—the full body camera footage, the complete autopsy findings, the Minneapolis Police Department training materials—my viewpoint changed. Dramatically.
Shapiro argues that complete body camera footage, autopsy findings, and Minneapolis Police Department training materials tell a different story than what the mainstream media initially reported.
Trump, who has signed nearly 100 executive orders targeting what he calls &#8220;woke&#8221; ideology since returning to office, cannot consider his “war on wokeness complete unless he addresses the fundamental injustice that started it all,” Shapiro said.
“Pardoning Chauvin is about making a definitive statement that the rule of law matters more than mob justice and that America is finally ready to correct the catastrophic error that sent our country spiraling into years of racial division and leftist cultural supremacy.”
Although a presidential pardon wouldn’t directly affect Chauvin’s state conviction, due to harsher federal rules for minimum sentencing, Shapiro explains, “On a 21-year federal sentence like Chauvin’s, the maximum reduction would be only about 3.1 years, resulting in approximately 17.9 years of actual incarceration — three years longer than what he’d serve under Minnesota’s more lenient system.”
The episode then delves into every one of  the “18 complaints” lodged against Chauvin as an officer, which reveal not a racist monster, but what Shapiro deems “the normal course of what happens when you’re policing high-crime areas for nearly two decades.”
Chauvin, in the course of dealing with “non-compliant suspects, domestic violence situations, armed suspects, and intoxicated individuals” was only reprimanded by the MPD once for being too aggressive in a traffic stop in 2007.
“The Left wants you to believe that these complaints prove Chauvin was a ticking time bomb who should have been removed from the force years ago. But when you actually examine the details, what emerges is a portrait of an officer doing a difficult job in challenging circumstances, operating within department guidelines.&#8221;
“They don&#8217;t want you to know these details because they contradict the narrative that Chauvin was a racist monster who deliberately murdered George Floyd out of racial animus. But facts don’t care about their feelings, and the facts show that Chauvin’s record was typical for a veteran officer working in a high-crime urban environment.”
Next, Shapiro unpacks George Floyd’s background, noting his rough upbringing in Houston’s Third Ward, eventually starting a troubling turn into crime and drugs, with his first felony cocaine conviction in 1997.
“The police officers who encountered him on his last day weren’t dealing with an upstanding citizen who had simply made a minor mistake; they were dealing with someone who had a long history of criminal behavior, including violence and resistance to police.”
The first episode of &#8216;The Case for Derek Chauvin&#8217; is <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/bss-ep-2160">now streaming</a> on DailyWire+. Episode 2, “The Incident,” will reveal &#8220;what really happened&#8221; on the day Floyd died.

WATCH: Ben Shapiro Gives The Facts On Derek Chauvin And George Floyd

This week, Daily Wire Editor Emeritus Ben Shapiro will begin a five-part series titled “The Case For Derek Chauvin.”
&#8220;This is going to be a comprehensive, multi-episode breakdown of the case — all the facts, all the evidence, all the political context,&#8221; Shapiro says in the first episode of the five-part series, which will premier Tuesday.
Chauvin was convicted in 2021 of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter in the death of George Floyd after a traffic stop on May 25, 2020. He was sentenced to 22.5 years in prison. Chauvin appealed his conviction, but the Minnesota Supreme Court upheld the decision and the United States Supreme Court declined to review the case. After the verdict was delivered, President Joe Biden declared, “Today&#8217;s verdict is a step forward.”
Chauvin was later convicted on federal charges of depriving Floyd of his constitutional rights and <a href="https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/former-minneapolis-police-officer-derek-chauvin-sentenced-more-20-years-prison-depriving#:~:text=On%20Dec.,police%20officer%2C%20resulting%20in%20Mr.">received</a> a 21-year sentence.
Floyd’s death was used as justification for riots throughout the summer of 2020.
“Dozens of people were killed or injured in the violent unrest, and thousands of businesses and properties, many minority-owned, were looted, torched, or otherwise vandalized,” the Foundation for Economic Education <a href="https://fee.org/articles/george-floyd-riots-caused-record-setting-2-billion-in-damage-new-report-says-here-s-why-the-true-cost-is-even-higher/">noted</a>. Fifteen people <a href="https://dailycaller.com/2020/06/05/15-people-died-protests-riots-george-floyd-death/">reportedly died</a> as a result of the riots. “The arson, vandalism and looting… will result in at least $1 billion to $2 billion of paid insurance claims,” Axios <a href="https://www.axios.com/riots-cost-property-damage-276c9bcc-a455-4067-b06a-66f9db4cea9c.html?utm_source=newsletter&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=newsletter_axiosam&amp;stream=top">reported.</a> That only estimated losses that were insured, thus underestimating the likely damage.
Shapiro has called for President Trump to pardon Chauvin of the federal charges against him, stating:
&#8220;The evidence demonstrates that Derek Chauvin did not, in fact, commit murder of George Floyd. George Floyd was high on fentanyl. He had a significant preexisting heart condition. George Floyd was saying he could not breathe before he was even out of the car. He was in the car saying he could not breathe. Derek Chauvin, for a large segment of the tape that was shown, had his knee on George Floyd&#8217;s shoulder or back, not on his neck.&#8221;
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Something to think about <a href="https://t.co/KbZQEMpFXP">https://t.co/KbZQEMpFXP</a>
&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1896975871904505884?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 4, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;The autopsy of George Floyd showed that he had no damage to his trachea, that probably George Floyd died of excited delirium,&#8221; Shapiro continued. &#8220;There were no accusations, even at trial, that Derek Chauvin had committed a hate crime against George Floyd, or that he targeted George Floyd because of his race.&#8221;
Shapiro noted that &#8220;it is worthwhile to remember that there is a man who is rotting in prison because the media decided in the middle of 2020 that they were going to turn a tragic law enforcement stop that ended with the death of a man who had a significant problem with drugs and preexisting health problems into the raison d’etre of the entire 2020 election.&#8221;
&#8220;It led to vast chaos,&#8221; Shapiro said. &#8220;It led to the destruction of racial comity in the United States, $2 billion in property damage, and a guy rotting in prison who, the evidence demonstrates, certainly was not guilty beyond reasonable doubt in that case.&#8221;

Ben Shapiro To Host Five-Part Series: ‘The Case For Derek Chauvin’

A lot of people have been asking why I’ve focused on the pardon of Derek Chauvin. After all, he&#8217;s convicted on both federal charges as well as state charges.
There are a few reasons. 
The first and most obvious reason is that there is a likelihood he serves less time if the federal charges are relieved because federal inmates can&#8217;t earn good-time credit that reduces sentences. That happens at a much lower rate at the federal level than it happens at the state level. With Chauvin&#8217;s concurrent sentences, he has roughly a 22.5-year sentence on state charges and 21 years on federal charges.
But under Minnesota state sentencing structure, inmates usually serve about two-thirds of their sentence behind bars and one third under supervised release. So he would serve roughly 15 years of the 22.5-year state sentence in actual confinement under the state charges, thus less time in jail.
But the second reason I have focused on pardoning Chauvin is that when someone believed to be not guilty is languishing in prison, that is the time when the President of the United States ought to either commute his sentence or pardon him. 
Chauvin is the perfect example. It is immoral to allow a person whom you believe is innocent to languish in prison just because that person was made into the face of American racism. With no evidence of such a claim, Chauvin was made the face of American racism before his trial. Every media outlet in the country decided he was guilty. 
The governor of Minnesota decided he was guilty. The mayor of Minneapolis decided he was guilty. The presidential candidates on the Left side of the aisle at that time, including Joe Biden, decided he was guilty. Thus, it was necessary for the jury to convict him in order for an entire narrative structure to be created.
That was wrong.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/bss-ep-2154-member-exclusive" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: The Ben Shapiro Show</a></h3>
There are many people who object to all of this. One of those people is Steven A. Smith, a loud-mouth on ESPN. When I say loud-mouth, I mean the man does not have a volume that goes below eight on the spinal tap scale. I&#8217;m not sure that there is such a thing as a normal Stephen A. Smith voice, and I say this as a long-time viewer of ESPN. Every time Smith comes on the TV, you have to turn down your volume significantly.
Smith is very angry that I have suggested that Chauvin ought to be pardoned. He <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5EhE8LcwNU">said</a> on his show, “Would you have taken that position if George Floyd was a Jewish person? A white Jewish person? If a black cop had his knee on a white Jewish person for over nine minutes, Ben Shapiro, would you have called for that individual to be pardoned?” 
First, let&#8217;s start with this: I don&#8217;t know why he believes that it would be important, even in his stupid example, for it to be a “white Jewish person” as opposed to just a Jewish person.
His claim is that I am a tribal identitarian; thus, I would be just fine with the wrongful prosecution of a cop if a Jew died under the knee of that cop — even if the cop was not responsible and the fact patterns were exactly the same — and George Floyd’s name had been Harold Bernstein (or something equivalent), and the cop had been named George Floyd, a black man.
That is intensely stupid. It&#8217;s intensely stupid for a variety of reasons. Why don&#8217;t we begin with the first? This would not have been a national news story if that were the case. The reason this entire story was national news is because of the race of the people involved. In fact, when black people were routinely beating up Orthodox Jews in Brooklyn, it was covered up by the New York Times. It was not a national story. 
The reality is that this was made a national story specifically because the media had a preexisting narrative of race in America, and this fulfilled their narrative, even if the facts didn&#8217;t match.
Second, if, in fact, the facts had matched, and this was a Jewish person who had been arrested for counterfeiting (for passing counterfeit bills), had been high on fentanyl with a preexisting heart condition, and then had died under the knee of a cop, would I have said that the cop was innocent?
Yes, because if the cop is innocent, the cop is innocent. That&#8217;s the way this works.
The race or religion of the pseudo-victim is irrelevant to the question of whether this person was in fact murdered or not.
Stephen A. Smith is one of the deepest racial identitarians in our society. He does it all the time. All the time. He does it when he talks about sports — all the time. If you&#8217;re talking about Nikola Jokić, the greatest basketball center of our generation, he&#8217;ll talk about how Jokić should not be included in conversations for MVP specifically because of his race.
The reason Smith makes these kinds of statements is because he is projecting. He is projecting a racial conversation where none exists. I’m a Boston Celtics fan, so the following example with Smith from just a couple of years ago springs to mind.
Danny Ainge was the chief of basketball operations for the Boston Celtics; then, Brad Stevens was elevated to fill his position. Stevens is a really good president of basketball operations. How do we know this? The Celtics won an NBA championship last year, and he&#8217;s been one of the most successful NBA executives in all the NBA over the course of his tenure.
But Smith was firmly convinced the only reason Stevens was elevated was because of his race, <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/ESPN/comments/1dk2a26/from_3_years_ago_how_does_anyone_like_or_respect/">saying</a>, “It&#8217;s moments like this where I get on people&#8217;s nerves, particularly white America and the NBA community specifically, because I point out it&#8217;s beautiful to be a white guy. It&#8217;s just beautiful. You know, you&#8217;re a question mark as a coach in some people&#8217;s eyes, including in Boston. But somehow, someway, you’re moving upstairs.”
It’s worth noting that “it&#8217;s beautiful to be a white guy in America” has not precluded Smith from a five-year $100 million contract for ESPN, a failing network with plummeting ratings.
The reason that Smith is exercised over the George Floyd situation is specifically because of a racial narrative that is not predicated on facts. Now, he&#8217;s projecting that onto me as being some sort of racist for suggesting the racial narrative should not predominate. This is the whole reason that Black Lives Matter was such a mistake and failure, because it was racializing of a question that was not, in fact, racial.
This is just more evidence that what I&#8217;m saying about Chauvin is true, that the reason that Chauvin is in prison right now is because he was the wrong race and George Floyd was the wrong race. Because of that, Chauvin is in prison.
Here&#8217;s the dirty little secret: It never would have been a national news story if the races had been reversed, or if both people had been white or both people had been black.
And that means the officer would have been assessed on the facts of the situation rather than the racial narrative that people like Stephen Smith were propagating.

ESPN First Take At Clark Atlanta University And Morehouse College

Stephen A. Smith Attacks Me

ESPN

Minnesota

Opinion

President Trump

Prison

Stephen A. Smith

MixCollage-10-Mar-2025-04-23-PM-5327

Don’t Listen To The Emotional Blackmail Arguments Against Pardoning Derek Chauvin

Federal Government

Matt Walsh

Pardon

Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk praised Daily Wire editor emeritus Ben Shapiro Monday for his “willingness to speak out” on the flaws in the case against Derek Chauvin, the Minneapolis police officer who was found guilty of second degree murder for the death of George Floyd in 2020.
Shapiro joined Kirk on the former’s podcast Monday to speak about his push for President Donald Trump to pardon Chauvin.
“Ben, I want to compliment you for your willingness to speak out on this,” Kirk said. “Because it wasn’t just one injustice. This was the gateway drug towards mass anarchy in the streets and an unnecessary thousands of people dying on top of the baseline crime rate.”
Kirk then ceded the floor so Shapiro could make his case for pardoning Chauvin.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dduWmpo7ioY?si=odSA7sbHIEUN8wH7" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
Shapiro began by pointing out that the narrative surrounding the entire case was false from the beginning.
“The narrative that surrounded the Floyd-Chauvin killing was the narrative that America was inherently racist. Now, those allegations were never actually made at trial. There was never any actual allegation made by prosecutors or by anyone that Derek Chauvin quote unquote ‘killed’ George Floyd because George Floyd was black. And yet that was the narrative that burst out all over the country, that systemic American policing is racist,” Shapiro said.
Kirk agreed with that assessment, noting that race-based initiatives such as The 1619 Project and Robin DiAngelo’s fame were widely popularized thanks in large part to this event. “We had police departments defunding the police – in fact, you can look at a material increase in crime, in both Minneapolis and across the country, because of this one incident.”
“Not just the riots. We saw murder rates, we saw arson, we saw carjackings, we saw widespread gang violence because of one incident,” Kirk added.
Kirk also noted that “political pressure in the medical examination process” caused people to ignore significant aspects of Floyd’s autopsy report, including the fact that fentanyl and methamphetamines were found in his system at the time of his death.
“I want everyone to internalize that,” Kirk said. “There was a willingness to reach a conclusion that America was racist.”
Shapiro went on to say that the way the media presented the case led to America having to undergo “a sort of racial cleansing process” which led to $2 billion in property damage, all of which was excused by the public and by mainstream media.
Shapiro also noted that facts about Floyd’s death all indicate evidence for a potential pardon. First, jurors have said they felt public pressure and were scared to come back with anything but a guilty verdict.
Shapiro told Kirk that no federal hate crime charges were ever filed.
The extended video version of the incident also offers new insights. Floyd began shouting about not being able to breathe when he was in the back of the police car and nowhere near Chauvin, potentially indicating that he was already having a medical issue before being taken out of the car.
He mentioned that the Minneapolis Police training procedure taught the method Chauvin used, which was admitted during the trial. “The autopsy and medical report suggest that &#8230; at best there’s certainly reasonable doubt that he died because of the suppression techniques specifically that Derek Chauvin was using,” Shapiro argued.
Ultimately, the Daily Wire co-founder concludes that the evidence does not match up with a second degree murder conviction.
Shapiro allows that the footage looks “ugly” at first, which is how most people felt when they saw the video clip. But, he adds, that doesn’t make Chauvin guilty of second degree murder. And it’s hard to argue that the former police officer had a fair trial or an impartial jury.
Policing is a rough and difficult job, Shapiro added, saying, “none of it looks good on tape.”
“You don’t have to believe that Derek Chauvin is ‘innocent’ to believe that he is not guilty,” Shapiro said.
“Just as I think that it is very important that President Trump, for example, pardon pro-lifers, because the image in the public mind that has been created by the legacy media for decades on end is that pro-lifers are violently protesting outside abortion clinics and therefore they have to be arrested. That’s not true, and so I think the pardon is important.”
Shapiro says you don’t have to agree with him on every aspect of the case to at least agree that Chauvin did not receive a fair trial and that the “major railroading” which occurred was not just for Chauvin, but also for the police as a whole and of America in general because “this turned into the launching point for a years-long effort to characterize America as deeply and irredeemably racist.”
Chauvin was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ben-shapiro-calls-on-trump-to-pardon-derek-chauvin-who-is-rotting-in-prison-thanks-to-the-media" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sentenced</a> to 22.5 years in prison for Floyd’s death. He had been facing up to 40 years after being convicted of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter. Under normal circumstances, he would have faced much less time, about 11 or 12 years behind bars.
The Daily Wire has launched a website, <a href="https://get.dailywire.com/pardon-derek/">pardonderek.com</a>, where people can sign a petition urging Trump to pardon Chauvin of his federal charges.

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WATCH: Charlie Kirk Praises Ben Shapiro’s Efforts To Pardon Derek Chauvin

Charlie Kirk

Donald Trump

There is one person that President Trump should pardon from federal charges forthwith. It would be incredibly controversial, but I think it is absolutely necessary.
That person is Derek Chauvin. President Trump should pardon Chauvin of federal charges. If we are talking about reversing the evils of the last several years in American life, COVID and its handling was obviously a massive evil; it destroyed the economy, set us on a path to fiscal insanity, disrupted children’s education and lives, and led to massive health-related cover-ups. It was horrifying all the way around.
But when it came to Black Lives Matter, the inciting event for the BLM riots that <a href="https://fee.org/articles/george-floyd-riots-caused-record-setting-2-billion-in-damage-new-report-says-here-s-why-the-true-cost-is-even-higher/">caused</a> $2 billion in property damage in the United States and set America&#8217;s race relations on their worst footing in my lifetime was the railroading of Chauvin in the death of George Floyd.
The evidence demonstrates that Chauvin did not, in fact, commit murder of Floyd. Floyd was high on fentanyl and had a significant preexisting heart condition. Floyd began saying he could not breathe while still in the car. Chauvin, for a large segment of the tape footage of the incident, had his knee on Floyd&#8217;s shoulder or back, not on his neck.
The autopsy of Floyd showed that he had no damage to his trachea, and he likely died of excited delirium. Even at trial, there were no accusations that Chauvin had committed a hate crime against or targeted Floyd because of his race.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/bss-ep-2150-member-exclusive" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: The Ben Shapiro Show</a></h3>
Nonetheless, on the basis of extraordinarily scanty evidence and while there was massive pressure on the jury, the mayor of Minneapolis paid a settlement to the Floyd family. Jurors were being openly threatened and admitted as much. In the end, Chauvin was convicted on federal charges, pleading guilty to federal charges. 
Chauvin should be pardoned on those federal charges. It is worthwhile to remember that there is a man who is rotting in prison because the media decided — in the middle of 2020 — to turn a tragic law enforcement stop that ended with the death of a man (who had a significant problem with drugs and preexisting health problems) into the raison d’être of the entire 2020 election.
It led to vast chaos. It led to the destruction of racial comity in the United States, $2 billion in property damage, and a man rotting in prison who, the evidence demonstrates, certainly was not guilty beyond reasonable doubt in that case.
President Trump should really seriously consider pardoning Chauvin from federal charges.

Minneapolis, Minnesota. People gather at the government center to wait for the verdict in the trial of Derek Chauvin for the killing of George Floyd.

President Trump Should Pardon Derek Chauvin

Police

Below is my letter to President Trump urging him to pardon Derek Chauvin. You can join the effort by signing the petition at: <a href="https://get.dailywire.com/pardon-derek/?_gl=1*rr7jnp*_gcl_au*OTE0NjE0NDkwLjE3MzcwNTE1NjU.*_ga*NDc2ODcwMzI0LjE3MjM1NTkzNzA.*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*MTc0MTExMjYxMy4zMjIuMS4xNzQxMTEyNjE4LjU1LjAuMA.." target="_blank" rel="noopener">pardonderek.com.</a>
* * *
Dear President Trump,
We write to urge you to immediately issue a pardon for Officer Derek Chauvin, who was unjustly convicted and is currently serving a 22-and-a-half year sentence for the murder of George Floyd and associated federal charges.
As you know, this was the inciting event for the BLM riots that caused $2 billion in property damage in cities across the United States and set America’s race relations on their worst footing in recent memory. Yet the evidence demonstrates that Derek Chauvin did not murder George Floyd.
George Floyd was high on fentanyl. He had a significant pre-existing heart condition. He was saying he could not breathe before he was even out of the car. Derek Chauvin, for large segments of the widely circulated video of the encounter, had his knee on George Floyd’s shoulder or back, not on his neck; this was confirmed by the autopsy, which showed no damage to George Floyd’s trachea. There was no accusation at trial that Derek Chauvin targeted George Floyd for his race.
Perhaps most significantly, there was massive overt pressure on the jury to return a guilty verdict regardless of the evidence or any semblance of impartial deliberation. This pressure took the form of threats, coercion, and intimidation. The Mayor of Minneapolis pre-judged the outcome of the trial and immediately issued a large settlement to the Floyd family. Then-President Biden, Congresswoman Maxine Waters, and others pre-judged the outcome of the trial and took to national media to create pressure on the jury to go along with their preferred narrative.
Under these circumstances, there was no opportunity for blind justice to work, and a man is now rotting in prison because of it.
Make no mistake—the Derek Chauvin conviction represents the defining achievement of the Woke movement in American politics. The country cannot turn the page on that dark, divisive, and racist era without righting this terrible wrong.
Thank you for your commitment to ending the weaponization of the American justice system.
Sincerely,
Ben Shapiro

Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin Arrested For George Floyd Death

Pardon Derek Chauvin: My Letter To Donald Trump

On Tuesday, Daily Wire Editor Emeritus Ben Shapiro launched a campaign urging President Donald Trump to pardon former police officer Derek Chauvin, who was convicted of killing George Floyd in 2021.
Following a discussion about presidential pardons on his eponymous podcast, Shapiro explained why Trump should pardon Chauvin of his federal charges.
“The evidence demonstrates that Derek Chauvin did not, in fact, commit the murder of George Floyd,” Shapiro said. “George Floyd was high on fentanyl; he had a significant pre-existing heart condition. George Floyd was saying he could not breathe before he was even out of the car. He was in the car saying he could not breathe.”
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<a href="https://t.co/ZQ9yABoWtM">https://t.co/ZQ9yABoWtM</a> <a href="https://t.co/4Wo1R3hamx">pic.twitter.com/4Wo1R3hamx</a>
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) <a href="https://twitter.com/benshapiro/status/1896966795543867892?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 4, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> 
“Derek Chauvin, for large segments of even the tape that was shown [at his trial], had his knee on George Floyd’s shoulder or back, not on his neck,” Shapiro continued. “The autopsy of George Floyd showed that he had no damage to his trachea, that probably George Floyd died of excited delirium. There were no accusations, even at trial, that Derek Chauvin had committed a hate crime against George Floyd or that he targeted George Floyd because of his race.”
“I think it is worthwhile to remember that there is a man who&#8217;s rotting in prison because the media decided in the middle of 2020 that they were going to turn a tragic law enforcement stop that ended with the death of a man that had a significant problem with drugs and pre-existing health problems into the raison d&#8217;être of the entire 2020 election,” Shapiro said. “It led to vast chaos. It led to, again, the destruction of racial comity in the United States, $2 billion in property damage, and a guy rotting in prison who the evidence demonstrates certainly was not guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in that case.”
In addition to continued attention to Chauvin, The Daily Wire is also launching a website, <a href="https://get.dailywire.com/pardon-derek/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pardonderek.com</a> where people can sign a petition urging Trump to pardon Chauvin of his federal charges.
Even if Trump were to pardon Chauvin, the state charges against the former police officer would still stand, and Chauvin would remain in prison.
In November 2023, Chauvin was stabbed in prison and required “life-saving measures,” The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/derek-chauvin-stabbed-in-prison-life-saving-measures-administered-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> at the time.
In December 2024, the Biden Justice Department <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-doj-tries-to-stop-derek-chauvin-from-appeal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">attempted to block</a> Chauvin’s legal team from examining Floyd’s heart tissue and bodily fluids to mount an appeal. Chauvin’s attorneys had been granted permission to examine the evidence by a U.S. District Court judge, but the Justice Department stepped in to try and reverse that decision.
Chauvin was sentenced to 22.5 years in prison for Floyd’s death. He had been facing up to 40 years after being convicted of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter. Under normal circumstances, he would have faced much less time, about 11 or 12 years behind bars.

Derek Chauvin/BLM

Ben Shapiro Calls On Trump To Pardon Derek Chauvin, Who Is ‘Rotting In Prison’ Thanks To ‘The Media’

Daily Wire Calls On Trump To Pardon Derek Chauvin For George Floyd's Death

U.S.

The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/nfl">NFL</a> has reportedly sent the word to remove the messaging “End Racism” from the end zones for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/super-bowl">Super Bowl</a> LIX in New Orleans on Sunday.
It will be the first time since February 2021 that the message &#8220;End Racism&#8221; has not appeared in a Super Bowl end zone. According to multiple sources, when the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles players take the field at the Caesars Superdome, the messaging in the end zones will read, “It Takes All Of Us” and “Choose Love,” the Athletic <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6112317/2025/02/04/nfl-end-racism-super-bowl-dei-trump/?partner=slack&amp;smid=sl-share">reported</a>. 
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From <a href="https://twitter.com/TheAthletic?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TheAthletic</a>: Sunday’s Super Bowl will mark the first time since February 2021 that “End Racism” is not included as a message in the back of the final&#8217;s end zone, according to league sources. <a href="https://t.co/uyz2HSBFGj">https://t.co/uyz2HSBFGj</a>
— The New York Times (@nytimes) <a href="https://twitter.com/nytimes/status/1886829629555589372?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 4, 2025</a></blockquote>
“We felt it was an appropriate statement for what the country has collectively endured, given recent tragedies, and can serve as an inspiration,” NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy said of the chosen messages, noting the terrorist attack in New Orleans’ French Quarter last month, the recent plane crash near Reagan Washington National Airport, and the wildfires that destroyed communities in Southern California.
The news follows reports that <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-to-become-first-sitting-president-to-attend-super-bowl">President Donald Trump</a> will become the first sitting U.S. president to attend the NFL’s biggest game. A White House official told <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/04/politics/donald-trump-super-bowl/index.html">CNN</a> on Tuesday that Trump is expected to attend the Super Bowl with guests that could include House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA).
The heavy security planned for the game will be heightened even more for the president’s attendance, according to CNN. The Super Bowl will take place just over a month after a radical Islamic terrorist drove a truck through a crowd on Bourbon Street on New Year’s Day, killing 14 people.
In 2018, the league initially launched its “Inspire Change” platform, and two years later, slogans like “Stop Hate,” “End Racism,” “It Takes All of Us,” and “Choose Love” started to make an appearance along end-zone borders, the outlet noted. However, the changes didn’t happen until after George Floyd’s death in 2020. 
Despite the reported messaging move for the Super Bowl, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell praised DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) efforts at the club-employment level and said it wasn’t going anywhere.
“We got into diversity efforts because we felt it was the right thing for the National Football League,” Goodell said. “And we’re going to continue those efforts, because we’ve not only convinced ourselves we’ve proven it to ourselves — it does make the NFL better.”
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-to-become-first-sitting-president-to-attend-super-bowl" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trump To Become First Sitting President To Attend Super Bowl</a>

NFL: DEC 15 Dolphins at Giants

NFL To Remove ‘End Racism’ Message In Super Bowl End Zones: Report

Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

Entertainment

Racism

Roger Goodell

Social Issues

Super Bowl

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/karla-sofia-gascon-becomes-first-trans-identifying-man-up-for-best-actress-oscar" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Karla Sofia Gascon</a>, the first trans-identifying man nominated for a Best Actress Oscar, is now facing backlash for since-deleted posts the actor made about George Floyd and Islam.
On Thursday, old Twitter posts deemed offensive began to resurface, putting Gascon, who is up for an Academy Award this year for the transgender musical crime drama “Emilia Perez,” under fire, <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/karla-sofia-gascon-tweets-george-floyd-islam-controversy-emilia-perez-1236122525/?utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_medium=social" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to The Hollywood Reporter.
Though the posts were deleted, social media users grabbed <a href="https://x.com/KindaHagi/status/1884980574865232056">screenshots</a> and <a href="https://x.com/chlmtslut/status/1885030489297182913">videos</a> that showed the posts on Gascon&#8217;s X account.
In June 2020, Gascon&#8217;s post (written in Spanish, translated by the outlet) about Floyd’s death read, “Let me get this straight, a guy tries to pass off a counterfeit bill after consuming methamphetamine, an idiot policeman arrives and goes too far in arresting him, killing him, ruining the lives of his family and his colleagues, and turning the guy with the bill into a martyr hero.”
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Actress Karla Sofía Gascón is facing backlash as old racist and Islamophobic posts resurface and go viral. <a href="https://t.co/ZgG7Xakgb3">pic.twitter.com/ZgG7Xakgb3</a>
— Pop Tingz (@ThePopTingz) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThePopTingz/status/1885018288683368763?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 30, 2025</a></blockquote>
“I really think that very few people ever cared about George Floyd, a drug addict swindler, but his death has served to once again demonstrate that there are people who still consider black people to be monkeys without rights and consider policemen to be assassins,” a later post added, <a href="https://variety.com/2025/film/news/karla-sofia-gascon-tweets-muslims-george-floyd-backlash-emilia-perez-1236291448/">Variety</a> noted. “They’re all wrong.”
In a November 2020 post, the actor took aim at Islam and said, “Sorry, is it just my impression or are there more and more Muslims in Spain? Every time I go to pick up my daughter from school there are more women with their hair covered and their skirts down to their heels. Maybe next year instead of English we’ll have to teach Arabic. Until we ban religions that go against European values and violate human rights, such as Islam, under the protection of freedom of worship, we will not end part of the huge problem we face.”
Another post from 2020 read, “Islam is marvelous, without any machismo. Women are respected, and when they are so respected they are left with a little squared hole on their faces for their eyes to be visible and their mouths, but only if she behaves. Although they dress this way for their own enjoyment. How DEEPLY DISGUSTING OF HUMANITY,” <a href="https://variety.com/2025/film/news/karla-sofia-gascon-tweets-muslims-george-floyd-backlash-emilia-perez-1236291448/">Variety</a> noted.
A 2021 post from Gascon took aim at all religions, with the actor writing on social media, “I am so sick of so much of this s***, of Islam, of Christianity, of Catholicism and of all the f***ing beliefs of morons that violate human rights,” Variety noted.
Gascon also slammed the 2021 Oscars telecast in another post, suggesting at the time, “More and more the #Oscars are looking like a ceremony for independent and protest films. I didn’t know if I was watching an Afro-Korean festival, a Black Lives Matter demonstration or the 8M. Apart from that, an ugly, ugly gala.”
After the posts resurfaced, social media users slammed Gascon, with some pleading for the Academy not to give the actor an award.
&#8220;Karla&#8217;s thread on George Floyd&#8230; you can&#8217;t make this stuff up&#8230; for the love of god do not give this woman an Oscar!!! &#8221; a <a href="https://x.com/christress/status/1885005732224909428" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Vanity Fair</a> writer wrote.
Another person <a href="https://x.com/Erib3004/status/1885113449753018871" target="_blank" rel="noopener">added</a>, &#8220;If Karla Sofia Gascón&#8216;s Academy Award nomination gets revoked (as it should) for her simply inappropriate comments, I will just post this pic and say nothing.&#8221; The picture was from this year&#8217;s Golden Globes, with remarks from Gascon, saying, &#8220;The light always wins over darkness.&#8221;
While a third <a href="https://x.com/Danimalish/status/1885059014335357193" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a>, &#8220;So not only is EMILIA PÉREZ a bad film, its lead actress is Islamophobic and racist. I see, I see, I see.&#8221;
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/oscars-nominations-announced-controversial-trans-drama-leads-with-13-nods" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Oscars Nominations Announced, Controversial Trans Drama Leads With 13 Nods</a>

82nd Annual Golden Globe Awards – Press Room

First Trans-Identifying Man Up For Best Actress Oscar Deletes Posts About George Floyd, Muslims

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