Reuters
- Republican lawmakers had differing reactions to ex-officer Derek Chauvin’s guilty verdict.
- Some welcomed the verdict and others said they didn’t follow the trial closely.
- Others, including Marjorie Taylor Greene, replied with a message of support for law enforcement.
- See more stories on Insider’s business page.
Republican lawmakers said the verdict in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin showed that the justice system worked and that “the jury did its job.”
Chauvin was convicted of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and manslaughter in the death of George Floyd on Tuesday.
“That’s the jury’s decision…I think they can appeal whether or not he got a fair trial but I told everybody that this is the way the system works. I accept the jury’s verdict and leave it up to the court,” Senator Lindsey Graham said.
Rep. Joni Ernst said, “I think the jury did its job, and I would — I did not follow, of course, all the parts of the trial, but I would say that given the information they received, they did their job, and I guess I’m in agreement, so…”
Several GOP legislators said they did not follow the trial closely but believed the jury decided fair.
Senator Rick Scott said he doesn’t “know all the facts” and “everybody loses in these.”
“It’s horrible what happened… Think about the poor family, Floyd lost. This guy’s life is changed,” Scott said, referring to Chauvin. “But I believe in the judicial system. Both sides presented their case and he was convicted.”
Freshman Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene responded to a video of crowds in front of the courthouse chanting “all cops are bas–ds” with just a hashtag reading “#BackTheBlue.”
On Monday, Greene introduced a resolution to expel Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters from Congress for “inciting violent riots and Black Lives Matter terrorism,” after Waters told a crowd of protesters in Minneapolis on Saturday night to “get more confrontational.”
The House rejected the effort to censure Waters on Tuesday.
Other members said the decision showed the justice system at work.
“I think our justice system is getting more just, I’m thankful for the verdict and certainly thought it was murder and so that last, my first thought or shortly thereafter and believe that this reinforces the fact that while we all may need to grow our confidence in parts of the system. The truth of the matter is that this reinforces a commitment that we can have confidence that the justice system is becoming more just,” South Carolina Senator Tim Scott said.
Senator Josh Hawley said he tends “to trust the judgment of juries.”
“So I have every expectation that this jury obviously deliberated for a number of hours, were very thoughtful about it,” Hawley said, adding that if Chauvin doesn’t like the verdict he could appeal.
Senator Tommy Tuberville said he was glad “we went through it like this. I didn’t get to see the trial. I understood that they had some very tough moments in the trial, but you know at the end of the day jury spoke guilty.”
Tuberville added that he hopes “we can get back to a normal situation in Minneapolis, to where everybody can kind of relax a little bit. It’s been a tough situation. But we do need to protect our police, and we need to protect the citizens and I think this will kind of throw a sign up saying ‘Hey, everybody do your job’ both sides.”
Senator Mike Braun welcomed the verdict.
“I think those are the verdict I was expecting and hope for and I think were deserved,” Braun said.
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