House Speaker Nancy Pelosi thanked George Floyd for “sacrificing [his] life for justice” on Tuesday after a jury convicted former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin on all charges in Floyd’s murder trial.
“Thank you George Floyd for sacrificing your life for justice, for being there to call out to your mom — how heartbreaking was that — to call out for your mom, ‘I can’t breathe,'” Pelosi said. “But because of you and because of thousands, millions of people around the world who came out for justice, your name will always be synonymous with justice.”
Nancy Pelosi thanks George Floyd for being murdered pic.twitter.com/na0Fjoj891
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) April 20, 2021
Pelosi’s comments came during a press conference shortly after Chauvin was convicted of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter.
In video of the arrest, Chauvin is seen kneeling on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes, even after Floyd lost consciousness.
Floyd’s death set off months of civil unrest and discussions about race and police conduct in cities nationwide.
On Tuesday, crowds in Minnesota celebrated the news that Chauvin had been convicted.