The Justice Department has reportedly dispatched officials from its Community Relations Service to act as peacemakers and facilitate listening sessions amid fallout from the verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial.
The verdict was expected to be read on Tuesday afternoon.
BIDEN OFFERED SUPPORT IN CALL WITH GEORGE FLOYD FAMILY
An unnamed senior Justice Department official told the Associated Press that officials from the Community Relations Service had been sent to Minneapolis.
The officials tout themselves as “America’s Peacemaker” by mediating disputes in communities and holding listening sessions to help prevent future conflicts.
Derek Chauvin speaks during trial, invokes Fifth Amendment, will not testify. (Court TV)
(Court TV)
A federal civil rights investigation, separate from the trial, remains ongoing. Several witnesses were subpoenaed earlier this year to appear before a federal grand jury considering charges against Chauvin.
The Justice Department’s civil rights investigation has been focused on Chauvin and some of the witnesses, including other officers who worked with Chauvin, people familiar with the matter have told the AP.
Philonise Floyd, brother of George Floyd, said Tuesday that President Biden called him to offer support as closing arguments ended and jury deliberation began in the trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin.
“He knows how it is to lose a family member, and he knows the process of what we’re going through,” Philonise Floyd said of Biden during an appearance on NBC’s “Today” show. “He just let us know he was praying for us and hoping everything would come out to be OK.”
While Philonise Floyd said he wanted protesters to remain “peaceful,” he said he couldn’t prevent people from expressing their pain – especially following the recent fatal police shooting of 20-year-old Daunte Wright just 10 miles from Floyd’s encounter with Chauvin last May.
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“It has been an emotional cinema picture, everyone watching around the world. We just want everybody to be peaceful, but at the same time I can’t stop people from doing the things that they’re doing because people are in pain, they’re hurt,” he said. “Daunte Wright was just killed 10 miles away from where we were in the courtroom. We just want everybody to get it together and understand we can live with each other in unity. And we stand in solidarity with everybody across America.”
Fox News’ inquiries to the Community Relations Service were not returned at the time of publication.
The Associated Press and Fox News’ Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.