‘Free Chauvin’: Elon Musk calls for release of Derek Chauvin as former officer seeks dismissal of George Floyd conviction

“Free Chauvin,” Musk wrote on Wednesday afternoon. He added in a separate post, “Derek Chauvin was unjustly convicted of murder, therefore he should be freed. The facts show that he was not the cause of death, nor did he at any time intend for a death to occur. Whatever else he may be, he is not a murderer. That is the truth.”

The day prior, Chauvin and his attorney filed a petition with the court, alleging “fraudulent” and “unlawful” conduct by state and county officials. Chauvin is serving consecutive sentences in federal prison, being sentenced to 22.5 years on the state charges for second-degree murder, and 21 years in prison for federal civil rights violations.

Attorney Greg Joseph argued in the 31-page court petition, “Hennepin County District Court Judge Peter Cahill presided over a year-long due process violation by failing to convene a grand jury to consider the State’s evidence at any point between the moment he was assigned to the case, and the verdict. He lacked jurisdiction over the charges, as this Court does, because they were never lawfully brought.”

Joseph also argued that Governor Tim Walz’s appointment of Attorney General Keith Ellison to lead the case was unlawful. Ellison had added the charge of second-degree murder to the complaint against Chauvin. The filing stated that a Hennepin County prosecutor, Amy Seasy, withdrew from the case and “disagreed with a decision to add additional charges against Chauvin.”

The filing continued, “Because Hennepin County’s unlawful charges against Mr. Chauvin were not severe enough for the mob, Walz referred the case to Keith Ellison, who signed and e-filed a second unfounded complaint against Derek Chauvin that included the murder charge it wanted.”

The filing added, “It is impossible to assess the trial errors in State v. Chauvin because the entire trial was a fraud; it was based on unfounded charges that were never properly before the Court.”

The May 2020 death of George Floyd sparked fiery riots across the country, with rioters clashing with police, fires being set, and roughly $2 billion in property damage being caused across the nation.

The phrase “I can’t breathe,” said by Floyd during his arrest by Minneapolis police officers after a store clerk said he used a counterfeit bill, was used by left-wing groups around the world. Floyd had said the phrase as Chauvin knelt on him, a technique over 50 former and current police officers declared was part of training given to Minneapolis police officers.