Outrage as Elon Musk hints at possibility of pardoning ex-cop Derek Chauvin in George Floyd murder case

WASHINGTON, DC: Tech billionaire Elon Musk has sparked outrage on X (formerly Twitter) after her entertained the possibility of pardoning former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who was convicted in the 2020 murder of George Floyd, the Daily Mail reported on Wednesday, February 5.

Chauvin is currently serving concurrent state and federal sentences in a federal prison in Arizona.

In May 2020, he and three fellow officers came across Floyd, a Black man suspected of using a fake $20 bill. The response to the non-violent crime was severe, as Chauvin knelt on Floyd's neck and back for 9 minutes and 29 seconds, asphyxiating and killing him in the process. 

The incident sparked the Black Lives Matter movement, and Floyd's final words, "I can't breathe," became a rallying cry for protestors around the country. Chauvin was fired and convicted in the following year of second and third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter, as well as two federal counts of violating Floyd's civil rights.

Calls to free Derek Chauvin from prison 

The demand to get Chauvin a pardon is currently being led by far-right commentator and founder of The Daily Wire, Ben Shapiro, who wrote an open letter to President Donald Trump, where he called the conviction "the defining achievement of the Woke movement in American politics," Newsweek reported.

Shapiro claimed that Chauvin did not murder Floyd as the latter was "high on fentanyl" and "had a significant pre-existing heart condition."

He further alleged that Chauvin was not accused of targeting Floyd for his race and that "large segments" of video footage of the incident captured showed his knee on Floyd's shoulder or back instead of his neck. 

"Perhaps most significantly, there was massive overt pressure on the jury to return a guilty verdict regardless of the evidence or any semblance of impartial deliberation," Shapiro added. 

Retweeting a clip from Shapiro's podcast where he presented his argument, Musk wrote on X, "Something to think about." This caused outrage on social media, leading netizens to blast the DOGE head. 

Outrage as Elon Musk hints at possibility of pardoning ex-cop Derek Chauvin in George Floyd's death

Social media users were furious with Elon Musk for even considering the possibility of freeing Derek Chauvin and thinking about Ben Shapiro's plea despite video evidence of the former police officer kneeling on Floyd's neck, which reportedly led to his death. 

"Musk has hit that point where he just wants to watch it all burn," an X user posted after Musk reshared Shapiro's post. 

"Insane," shared another.

"WTF is wrong with people. Why would anyone consider pardoning Chauvin?" asked one person.

"The thought that someone is considering a killer cop could be pardoned makes me feel gravely ill," another noted.

"Sick and disgusting!" one person exclaimed.

"It sounds like Musk is a sadistic criminal who hangs with other criminals!" wrote another.

"Disrespectful and hideou," stated an individual.

"Bro just wants chaos," added another.

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