Calls from MAGA-aligned voices to pardon Derek Chauvin have been shut down by Minnesota attorney general Keith Ellison, who declared the disgraced officer “still owes Minnesota 22 and a half years” for the murder of George Floyd.
Ellison made his stance clear on MSNBC’s “PoliticsNation” as conservative commentator Ben Shapiro and others pushed a petition urging former President Donald Trump to pardon Chauvin’s federal civil rights conviction. “He’s not getting out,” Ellison said flatly.
“I think they’re pushing for it because they want to agitate and outrage people,” Ellison added. “I don’t know if Trump is going to pardon Chauvin or not, but if he does, it doesn’t change his prison sentence. He still owes Minnesota 22 and a half years, and he’s going to do it either in Minnesota or somewhere.”
Despite the noise online, including Elon Musk amplifying Shapiro’s video on X (Twitter) with the comment “Something to think about,” legal experts say a federal pardon wouldn’t touch Chauvin’s state murder conviction.
That sentence, handed down in June 2021, runs longer than his federal time and remains unaffected by presidential action.
Donald Trump Addresses Campaign To Pardon Derek Chauvin
When asked about the campaign, Trump claimed ignorance. “No, I haven’t even heard about it,” he told reporters.
Ellison called the pardon push “blatant disrespect for the law” and “blatant disrespect” for Floyd’s family.
Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer, was convicted by a jury on three counts—unintentional second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter—after kneeling on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes during a 2020 arrest.
Floyd, who was handcuffed, repeatedly told officers he couldn’t breathe. The killing, caught on video, ignited global protests against police brutality and systemic racism.
Chauvin later pleaded guilty to federal charges for violating Floyd’s civil rights. In that plea, he admitted he willfully deprived Floyd of his right to be free from unreasonable seizure, including unreasonable force by a police officer.
His state sentence is set to end in December 2035. His federal term, which runs concurrently, ends in November 2037.
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