Judge Peter Cahill said comments by Rep. Maxine Waters over the weekend could lead to the trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin being overturned on appeal.
After defense attorney Eric Nelson criticized “U.S. representatives [for] threatening acts of violence in relation to this specific case,” Cahill said Waters’ calls for protesters to get “more confrontational” if Chauvin is acquitted may have undermined the legitimacy of the entire trial.
“I’ll give you that congresswoman Waters may have given you something on appeal that may result in this whole trial being overturned,” Cahill replied.
Prosecutors argued that Waters’s specific comments were not necessarily a threat of violence.
“I don’t know that this particular representative made a specified threat of violence. I don’t know what the context of the statement is,” prosecuting attorney Matthew Frank said, adding that defense attorneys could enter specific evidence of alleged threats from Waters into the record if they so chose.
Cahill said he would allow Nelson to enter media reports of Waters’s statements into the record.
“I’m aware of the media reports. I’m aware that congresswoman Waters was talking specifically about this trial and the unacceptability of anything less than a murder conviction and talk about being confrontational,” he said.
The Minnesota judge expressed his desire that politicians stop speaking publicly about the trial, saying their commentary is disrespectful to the separation of powers.
“This goes back to what I’ve been saying since the beginning. I wish elected officials would stop talking about this case, especially in a manner that is disrespectful to the rule of law and to the judicial branch and our function,” he said. “I think if they want to give their opinions, they should do so in a respectful [way] and in a manner that is consistent with their oath to the Constitution to respect a coequal branch of government. Their failure to do so, I think, is abhorrent.”
Cahill then denied the defense’s motion for a mistrial, saying he believed the jury hadn’t been exposed to Waters’s comments and “a congresswoman’s opinion really doesn’t matter a whole lot.”
The courtroom exchange references recent comments by Waters, who demanded Chauvin be found “guilty, guilty, guilty” of the murder of George Floyd, a black man.
“We’re looking for a guilty verdict,” she told a crowd of protesters on Saturday. “And we’re looking to see if all of the talk that took place and has been taking place after they saw what happened to George Floyd, if nothing does not happen, then we know that we’ve got to not only stay in the street, but we’ve got to fight for justice.”
The California Democrat urged demonstrators to “get more confrontational” if Chauvin is acquitted.
Her comments attracted widespread criticism, with Republicans calling for her expulsion from Congress for incitement. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene introduced a resolution that would remove Waters from Congress, and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy told Speaker Nancy Pelosi she must hold Waters accountable for “inciting violence in Minneapolis” or he will.
“Maxine Waters is inciting violence in Minneapolis — just as she has incited it in the past. If Speaker Pelosi doesn’t act against this dangerous rhetoric, I will bring action this week,” McCarthy said Sunday.
Pelosi disagreed with the GOP’s characterization of Waters’s remarks, saying she didn’t need to apologize because she wasn’t inciting violence.
“No, I don’t think she should apologize,” Pelosi said in response Monday. “Maxine talked about confrontation in the manner of the civil rights movement.”
Asked whether the comments from Waters incited violence, the speaker said, “No, absolutely not.”
Waters’s remarks reflect the views of many on the Left, who believe Chauvin’s actions prior to Floyd’s death amounted to murder. On May 25 last year, Floyd, 46, was arrested after allegedly using a counterfeit $20 bill. When the police attempted to apprehend him, they pinned him to the ground, and Chauvin, who is white, placed his knee on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes, during which Floyd cried that he couldn’t breathe. Floyd died following the incident.
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Floyd’s death subsequently led to nationwide protests last summer. Similar scenes have been repeated in the past week after the police shooting of Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old black man. Wright was shot and killed by former officer Kimberly Potter during a traffic stop on April 11 in nearby Brooklyn Center. Minnesota called in the National Guard to help quell the unease.
The trial for Chauvin, who has pleaded not guilty to charges of third-degree murder, second-degree murder, and manslaughter, saw attorneys making closing arguments on Monday. Jurors are now deliberating their verdict in the case.
