Ben Shapiro Starts Petition Encouraging Trump to Pardon Derek Chauvin; Could it Happen?

There is not a lot that is memorable about 2020, at least not for a lot of good reasons. There was COVID-19 and a rigged election that brought us the worst President in American history. That year was less than memorable for another reason, too. It was the year that America withstood the greatest assault on race relations in 50 years. Yeah, America has had some often-turbulent moments between black and white since the war between the states. When the nation’s first black President, Barack Obama, was elected, he was handed a golden opportunity to bring all Americans together. However, he chose not to. But like every other time circumstances attempted to divide Americans by race, we weathered the storm. That is, until May 25, 2020.

The entire world knows what happened on that day. A white Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin, was subduing a black man named George Floyd, who he had arrested for passing a counterfeit $20 bill. Floyd became combative while being arrested, and while down on the ground, Chauvin appeared to place his knee on Floyd’s neck for almost nine minutes. He later died at a hospital. The whole incident sparked outrage, protests, and riots all over the country. Chauvin was convicted of second-degree murder and a variety of state and federal charges. Five years have passed since that awful time, and now, conservative commentator and podcaster Ben Shapiro says he has evidence that will prove Chauvin’s innocence. He has also called for President Donald Trump to pardon Derek Chauvin. He has started a petition online that has garnered at least 50,000 signatures.

So, what benefit would there be to this? Derek Chauvin is currently serving time in a federal prison in Texas. If Trump were to pardon him, he could only be pardoned on the federal charges, not the state charges. Chauvin would then be transferred to a Minnesota state prison to serve the remainder of his state sentence. Chauvin’s state sentence is longer than the federal and Shapiro says that if the federal charges are dropped by a Trump pardon, that might lessen the length of time Chauvin serves at the state level. Trump has said that he has no knowledge of the push to pardon Chauvin and had no knowledge of the petition. But is that something Trump might consider? A federal pardon would not get Chauvin released from prison, he would still have to serve the state sentence, and in Minnesota, you can bet that uber-left-wing Gov. Tim Walz and uber-left-wing Attorney General Keith Ellison would make sure that Chauvin served every nanosecond of that sentence.

Even though Trump is not running for president again, there is still the issue of political capital. Trump and Republicans, in general, made great inroads with black Americans during the 2024 election cycle. It would likely be something Trump would not want to risk, especially now that Republicans are enjoying an amount of momentum they have not seen in quite a while. With the Democrat party in a freefall of their own making, why hand them a gift? Then, there would be the predictable reaction from the left. Not that they need an excuse to destroy cities, but the left would cause a level of mayhem and destruction not seen since Floyd’s death.

But there are other points to consider as well. During an appearance on Charlie Kirk’s podcast, Shapiro brought forth evidence that was not heard during the trial, evidence that could have sent the verdict in an entirely different direction. Two separate autopsies, one that did not include results of a toxicology report, witnesses who claimed they were afraid to say what they really saw, which went against the media and political narrative that had been written before Floyd was even pronounced dead. Jurors who were afraid to say anything but that Chauvin was guilty. One juror even showed up at a Black Lives Matter protest. Hardly sounds like a fair and impartial jury. Think back to that time for just a minute. If anyone had questions about what happened, who was going to speak up?

Derek Chauvin was not going to be named cop of the year. Before the Floyd incident, he had a number of complaints against him. George Floyd was no Boy Scout, either. At the time of his death, He was a smoker with clogged arteries, one of them 90 percent. He had an enlarged heart and had large amounts of fentanyl and methamphetamine and smaller amounts of THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, all in his system. Things that all surely contributed to his death.

But if Shapiro has what he says he has, evidence that will prove Chauvin’s innocence, evidence we would assume Chauvin’s attorneys have as well, why hasn’t this evidence been made public? Why not have a look at it and determine if it would make a difference? Chauvin is not going anywhere while that takes place. We know why that hasn’t taken place. One word: narrative. The George Floyd case brought about some of the most destructive things to happen to America in a century. Defund the police, DEI, CRT, and the 1619 Project. If Derek Chauvin is proven innocent, all those things are proven to be the frauds we know they are.

No doubt, this would be a highly controversial move for President Trump. Shapiro says he is in touch with Chauvin’s legal team to see what “they’re interested in pursuing.” Ben Shapiro may turn out to be the race industry’s worst nightmare.

To watch Ben Shapiro's appearance on Charlie Kirk's podcast, click here: