Former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin has pleaded guilty to federal charges of violating George Floyd’s civil rights.
Chauvin’s plea Wednesday means he will not face a federal trial in January, though he could end up spending more years behind bars when a judge sentences him at a later date.
Chauvin, who is white, was convicted this spring of state murder and manslaughter charges for pinning his knee against Floyd’s neck during a May 25, 2020, arrest as the Black man said he couldn’t breathe Chauvin was sentenced to 22 1/2 years in that case.
The federal charges included two counts alleging that Chauvin deprived Floyd of his rights by kneeling on his neck as he was handcuffed and not resisting, and then failing to provide medical care.
For the fifth time since taking office less than a year ago, President Joe Biden is taking on the grim task Wednesday of visiting an area ravaged by natural disaster to offer comfort and condolences.
Biden headed to Kentucky to survey damage and offer federal support for the victims of devastating tornadoes that killed dozens and left thousands more in the region without heat, water or electricity.
More than 30 tornadoes tore through Kentucky and at least four other states over the weekend, killing at least 88 people and demolishing homes, downing power lines and cutting off residents from key utilities as temperatures dropped below freezing in Kentucky earlier this week.
Biden will visit Fort Campbell for a storm briefing and Mayfield and Dawson Springs to survey storm damage. While Biden is expected to speak, it’s not the focus of the trip. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the president will meet with storm victims and local officials to provide federal support.
Students in St. Thomas professor Cara Anthony’s Theology and the Environment course have conducted extensive research on the issues surrounding Enbridge Energy’s Line 3 pipeline, which is located throughout northern Minnesota.
Students found that oil pipelines are endangering lands, affecting Native American treaties and learned what needs to be done to combat this. The research was done through a theological lens because the course focuses on the relation between humans and God’s natural environment.
Anthony has been teaching this course for over ten years, but this is the first time she is teaching it alone, and the first year she is introducing this project. Line 3 has been in operation since 1968, and Enbridge first proposed its replacement seven years ago and because the project is set to finish in late 2021, Anthony felt this was a good year for students to conduct research.
Angeline Terry can be reached at Terr2351@stthomas.edu.