President Joe Biden called the family of George Floyd on Monday (April 19) after the jury in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was sequestered for deliberation.
“I can only imagine the pressure and the anxiety that they’re feeling,” Biden said. “They’re a good family and they’re calling for peace and tranquility no matter what the verdict is,” he added.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki tweeted that the call was to “check in with them and also share that the family was in his prayers.”
According to CNN, Biden told reporters he believes the evidence against Chauvin is “overwhelming,” adding that he is “praying for the right verdict” in the case. “I wouldn’t say that unless the jury was sequestered,” Biden said Tuesday (April 20).
George’s brother, Philonise Floyd, described the conversation with Biden in an interview with NBC.
“He was just calling. He knows how it is to lose a family member. And he knows that the process of what we’re going through so he was just letting us know that he was praying for us and hoping that everything would come out to be OK,” Philonise Floyd said.
Biden called the family last year, shortly after Floyd was killed and also met with them in Houston, Texas to offer his condolences.
According to CNN, Biden expressed his concern about the potential fallout from the trial during a recent session with the Congressional Black Caucus. He’s reportedly been monitoring the trial closely and is worried that a verdict could heighten racial tensions in the country.
The jury in the Chauvin trial entered their second day of deliberation on Tuesday (April 20) after three weeks of hearing evidence.
Protests broke out across the nation following the police-involved killings of Daunte Wright and Adam Toledo that occurred during the trial proceedings, further heightening concern and calls for justice.
National guard troops have been deployed in several cities, though Biden administration officials told CNN he hopes to avoid a militarized response to protests like what was seen last summer. Officials told the outlet that Biden believes he has to directly address systemic racism in the American criminal justice system.
Photo: Getty Images