Naked, stoned and stabbed

Today comes word that Derek Chauvin has been attacked and seriously injured by another inmate in federal prison. John wrote about the stabbing and commented on the Chauvin case here earlier this morning.

Something’s happening here. What it is is pretty clear.

When Derek Chauvin filed an appeal of his conviction for the murder of George Floyd, a funny thing happened on the way to the Minnesota Court of Appeals. Chauvin lost his lawyer. At trial Chauvin had been represented by a single (overmatched) attorney, Eric Nelson—assisted by a young associate—assigned to represent him from a limited roster of attorneys on call through the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers insurance program. However, Chauvin’s insurance did not cover the appeal and he was denied a public defender.

I put out a call on Power Line for some Minnesota attorney to step forward and represent Chauvin on appeal in “Derek Chauvin needs a lawyer.” Minneapolis attorney Bill Mohrman responded to the call. Bill represented Chauvin in the Minnesota Court of Appeals, the Minnesota Supreme Court, and the United States Supreme Court. Both the Minnesota and U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Chauvin’s appeal. The U.S. Supreme Court’s denial of Chauvin’s petition for certiorari was filed this past Monday. Alpha News editor Anthony Gockowski covered the denial here.

I viewed the trial proceedings from the media center set up in the Thrivent Financial Building across the street from the courthouse. The court set up the media center in the building’s auditorium. I saw the scene outside the courthouse up close and I thought that Chauvin was tried in a lynch-mob atmosphere that precluded a fair trial. I wrote about that aspect of the case, most recently, in the City Journal review/essay “The anti-cop attorney general.”

Alpha News reporter Liz Collin has now produced the film The Fall of Minneapolis. The film is based on Liz’s Amazon bestseller They’re Lying: The Media, The Left, and The Death of George Floyd. The book and the film provide a contrarian take on the prevailing narrative surrounding George Floyd’s death and the trial of Derek Chauvin as well as a powerful portrait of the consequences for Minneapolis.

Alpha News supported free distribution of the film on social media for maximum viewership. Viewers can contribute to support Alpha’s work and help promote the film here. I have posted the film via Rumble below.

The film’s portrayal of the aftermath is devastating. The contrast that emerges between the many former Minneapolis police officers who speak up on camera and the feckless politicians who called the shots — Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, and other officials including former Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo — could not be starker.

Liz appeared briefly on Megyn Kelly’s SiriusXM show last week along with director J.C. Chaix to discuss the film. Video of Megyn’s segment with Liz and Dr. Chaix is embedded in the Alpha News story on the premiere and available here on Megyn’s YouTube channel. Earlier this week Liz appeared on Fox News Channel’s Jesse Watters Primetime to talk about the movie. Posted here on YouTube, the interview is preceded by a powerful excerpt of the film.

Notice: All comments are subject to moderation. Our comments are intended to be a forum for civil discourse bearing on the subject under discussion. Commenters who stray beyond the bounds of civility or employ what we deem gratuitous vulgarity in a comment — including, but not limited to, “s***,” “f***,” “a*******,” or one of their many variants — will be banned without further notice in the sole discretion of the site moderator.

Responses