A juror for Derek Chauvin didn’t tell the truth about being at a BLM protest for George Floyd last year when he was being queried by Chauvin’s defense team during the jury selection:
DAILY MAIL – One of the jurors who convicted Derek Chauvin of the murder of George Floyd took part in a Black Lives Matter protest last summer in Washington, DC, and then lied about it on a questionnaire sent out before jury selection – and it could be grounds for the cop’s appeal.
A photo, posted on social media, shows Brandon Mitchell attending an August 28 event to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech during the 1963 March on Washington.
It shows Mitchell, a high school basketball coach, standing with two other men and wearing a T-shirt with a picture of King and the words, ‘GET YOUR KNEE OFF OUR NECKS’ and ‘BLM’. He is also wearing a baseball cap printed with Black Lives Matter.
Chauvin Juror attended BLM rally wearing 'Get Your Knee Off Our Necks' T-shirt before trial – LIED about it on jury questionnaire
Read more: https://t.co/LM2NAfhlmE pic.twitter.com/BYopT4P1O8
— Daily Mail US (@DailyMail) May 4, 2021
Daily Mail continues, noting that Mitchell is defending his omission:
Mitchell has admitted the photo is of him from that date, but defended attending the rally, claiming it was not explicitly a protest against police or a commemoration for George Floyd.
That is despite the fact that Floyd’s brother and sister, Philonise and Bridgett Floyd, and relatives of other African Americans who have been shot by police addressed the crowd that day.
Mitchell, 31, acknowledged being at the event and that his uncle posted the photo, but said he doesn’t recall wearing or owning the shirt.
Obviously, this could end up being a much bigger deal in Chauvin’s appeal:
Mike Brandt, a Minneapolis defense attorney not involved in the case, told the AP the revelation alone wasn’t nearly enough to overturn Chauvin’s conviction, but it could be combined with other issues – the announcement of a massive civil settlement to Floyd’s family during jury selection, the shooting of Daunte Wright, the judge’s refusal to move the trial – in an appeal to say Chauvin was denied a fair trial.
Ted Sampsell-Jones, a professor at the Mitchell Hamline School of Law, told the AP that the photo of Mitchell was ‘evidence that Chauvin can point to in order to establish that his right to an impartial jury was denied.’
I think there was already enough to establish that Chauvin wasn’t given a fair trial in a appeal. This new evidence will just bolster their case even more so and any fair judge should agree.