Derek Chauvin and three other former Minneapolis police officers have pleaded not guilty at their arraignment on federal charges over the killing of George Floyd.
Chauvin, 45, Tou Thao, 35, J Alexander Kueng, 27, and Thomas Lane, 38, were arraigned on charges of willfully violating Floyd's civil rights when he was pinned down by his neck under Chauvin's knee for more than nine minutes until he passed out and died back in May 2020.
The convicted killer and the three other cops were all slapped with federal charges of depriving Floyd of his rights by failing to provide him medical care to Floyd.
Chauvin was also charged with violating Floyd's right to be free from unreasonable seizure and force by a police officer, while Thao and Kueng were charged with violating Floyd's right to be free from unreasonable seizure by failing to intervene to stop Chauvin using unreasonable force.
convicted on these charges, all four disgraced officers could face the federal death penalty or life in prison.
Chauvin was convicted of Floyd's second and third-degree murder, as well as second-degree manslaughter, at a state trial in Minneapolis in April. He was sentenced to 22 and a half years in prison.
Thao, Kueng and Lane are also awaiting a state trial in March on charges of aiding and abetting Chauvin. The trial was originally slated for August but was delayed.
Derek Chauvin, Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane left to right in booking photos in June. They were all arraigned on federal hate crimes charges Tuesday
Floyd (pictured) died Memorial Day 2020 when Chauvin knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes during an arrest over a counterfeit bill
All four former cops entered not guilty pleas at the hearing and waived their rights to have the charges read out to them in court.
Federal arraignment hearings typically involve defendants entering not guilty pleas.
The four defendants each appeared via videoconference due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Chauvin was asked to mute his microphone due to background noise from Minnesota's maximum security prison where he appeared remotely via videolink.
The other three defendants appeared remotely alongside their attorneys.
The judge asked the prosecution and the defense about the number of experts they expect to present to the court at trial.
The government said they expect to present testimony from medical experts and use of force experts but they are not sure of the number of experts at this time.
The attorneys for the defendants each said they would also call medical and use of force experts.
A total of 40 pretrial motions will also be argued during the hearing.
Thao, Kueng and Lane have asked that they stand trial separately to Chauvin, claiming they would be unfairly prejudiced if they went to trial alongside the convicted murderer.
US Magistrate Judge Tony Leung asked each of the defendants to submit evidence for this argument after the hearing.
Thao's attorney argued Tuesday that this case would have 'grave prejudice' against his client if he stands trial with Chauvin.
Attorneys for Kueng and Thao filed a motion in August, saying evidence against Chauvin would confuse the jury and deprive Kueng of his right to a fair trial.
He also said there is a conflict of interest due to Chauvin's level of culpability in Floyd's death, saying 'the jurors will not be able to follow the Court's instructions and compartmentalize the evidence as it related to Mr. Kueng.'
Chauvin knelt on Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes (above) until he died last May 25
Lane's attorney then filed a motion asking to join their request.
Prosecutors are arguing they should all be tried together because the charges stem from the same event and the evidence is similar.
Lane's attorney Earl Gray argued over some of the wording in the indictment which said he had been a cop since December 2019.
Instead, he said Lane had only worked four shifts on the job as a cop prior to the day of Floyd's murder - May 25 2020.
'The main issue in this case for Mr. Lane and I believe for Mr. Kueng also is that they're claiming he should have intervened on what Chauvin did
