Keith Ellison, Minnesota Attorney General, announced today that he is elevating charges against Derek Chauvin and charging the three other officers involved in the murder of George Floyd, according to the Star Tribune. Chauvin was originally charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter after pressing his knee into Floyd’s neck, which a doctor later confirmed caused asphyxiation leading to Floyd’s death. Chauvin is now charged with second-degree murder, which can carry a sentence of “not more than 40 years” in Minnesota.
The other three officers involved in Floyd’s death—Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng, and Thomas Lane—have also finally been charged with “aiding and abetting second-degree murder,” which carries a significantly lighter sentence and could be thrown out it Chauvin is not convicted.
This story will be updated.