AG Ellison: Derek Chauvin’s ‘important and historic’ guilty plea ‘another moment of accountability and another step on the road to justice’

AG Ellison issues statement upon Chauvin’s admission he deprived George Floyd and a juvenile of their civil rights

‘Nobody is above the law, and nobody is beneath it’

December 15, 2021 (SAINT PAUL) — Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison today released the following statement upon the guilty plea of Derek Chauvin in federal court for depriving George Floyd and a then-14-year-old boy of their civil rights: 

“Today, Derek Chauvin took responsibility and admitted his guilt in open court, under penalty of perjury, for depriving George Floyd and a boy, then just 14 years old, of their civil rights. This is important and historic. His admissions mark another important moment of accountability and another step on the road to justice. Although the Floyd family’s loss can never be healed, I hope this historic admission of wrongdoing brings them some comfort. I also hope it brings more trust and healing to the relationship between law enforcement and community. 

“I thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota and the Department of Justice for their important work here. George Floyd’s life mattered. That young man’s matters. Nobody is above the law, and nobody is beneath it. While Floyd’s life is lost to his family and all of us, I hope Chauvin’s change of plea will mark a new beginning for equal justice under the law, respectful treatment for every person in our society, and greater trust in our system of justice.”