Minneapolis protests as George Floyd death trial opens

Minneapolis, United States, Mar 29 (efe-epa).- About 200 people demonstrated Monday in Minneapolis after the first day of the trial against former police officer Derek Chauvin, accused of murdering African-American George Floyd a year ago, to demand that he be brought to justice.

“We have to end white supremacy in the United States. The whole world and the rest of the country are watching,” said one of the organizers of the demonstration led by social movement Black Lives Matter.

The one-hour protest ran through the streets surrounding the Hennepin County Government Center, the origin last year of the largest racial protests in the US in decades and where initial proceedings of the Chauvin trial began Monday.

Protesters chanted slogans against police violence and the judicial system in the United States such as “No Justice No Peace, Prosecute de Police” or “Chauvin Guilty.”

The reaction on the Minneapolis streets came following images that a year ago shocked the country after Floyd’s alleged murder at Chauvin’s hands. Footage of the incident, which lasts more than nine minutes, was circulated online.

Prosecutors Jerry W. Blackwell addressed the 12 jury members and said his objective is to show Chauvin is “anything but innocent” and should be convicted of the alleged May 25, 2020 murder.

The process against Chauvin has attracted great media expectation as Floyd’s death sparked the outbreak of massive racial protests across the United States that pressured the government of then-President Donald Trump. EFE-EPA

asl/lds