People across the United States celebrated on Tuesday as Derek Chauvin was found guilty of murdering George Floyd after cities across the country had been on high alert for protests in the case of a not guilty verdict.
Hundreds of people who had gathered outside a courthouse in Minneapolis could be heard inside as they cheered when the jury found Derek Chauvin guilty in the murder of George Floyd.
The crowd had been patiently waiting outside the Hennepin County Courthouse on Tuesday when the jury reached a verdict. It arrived after about 10 hours of deliberations over two days.
In a clip from the scene, the crowd was mostly quiet until someone shouted: ‘Guilty! Guilty!’
The crowd erupted immediately with cheers and people jumping up and down.
Another person is heard quietening the group again before yelling: ‘Derek Chauvin’s been found guilty!’
‘Say his name,’ the man continued. The crowd responded: ‘George Floyd!’
MINNEAPOLIS: More than 100 people who had gathered outside a courthouse in Minneapolis could be heard inside as they cheered when the jury found Derek Chauvin guilty in the murder of George Floyd
MINNEAPOLIS: Philonise Floyd, George Floyd’s brother, is pictured with Reverend Al Sharpton and others following the verdict in the trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin
MINNEAPOLIS: Philonise Floyd uses a napkin during a news conference following the verdict in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin
MINNEAPOLIS: Philonise Floyd, center, brother of George Floyd, joins the Rev. Al Sharpton, left, and attorney Ben Crump, right, during a news conference after the verdict was read in the trial of former Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd
MINNEAPOLIS: Philonise Floyd, center, brother of George Floyd, raises his hands in victory with attorney Ben Crump, center, during a news conference after the verdict was read in the trial of former Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd
MINNEAPOLIS: Attorney Ben Crump’s legal team poses following the verdict in the trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin
MINNEAPOLIS: People react after the verdict in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, found guilty of the death of George Floyd, in front of Hennepin County Government Center
MINNEAPOLIS: People react after the verdict in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, found guilty of the death of George Floyd, in front of Hennepin County Government Center
MINNEAPOLIS: A man cries as he hugs someone after the verdict in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, found guilty of the death of George Floyd, in front of Hennepin County Government Center
MINNEAPOLIS: A woman cries as she hugs a man outside of the Hennepin County Government Center after Chauvin’s verdict was read
MINNEAPOLIS: People react to the news of the verdict of the Derek Chauvin trial at George Floyd Square with crying and hugging
MINNEAPOLIS: People cry and hug each other at George Floyd Square while another man, left, smiles with joy at the guilty verdict
MINNEAPOLIS: A person wearing a Black Lives Matter mask hugs another person after the verdict for Derek Chauvin was read on Tuesday
MINNEAPOLIS: A woman holding a beverage puts her hands into a prayer sign after the guilty verdict was read for the murder over George Floyd
MINNEAPOLIS: A woman holds a guilty sign while people react to the guilty verdicts for Derek Chauvin in the murder of George Floyd
MINNEAPOLIS: A woman holds a Black Lives Matter sign out of the sunroof of a vehicle after the verdict is read on Tuesday
MINNEAPOLIS: A woman clutches her hands to her face after the verdict was released
MINNEAPOLIS: Hugs and cheers of joy were found in abundance
MINNEAPOLIS: A man celebrates with both arms in the air outside of the Hennepin County Government Center
MINNEAPOLIS: People throw money into the air after the verdict in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin
NEW YORK: Jibrill Morris reacts after the verdict in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, found guilty of the death of George Floyd, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York City
WASHINGTON D.C.: People watch the announcement of the verdict in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin
WASHINGTON D.C.: Joseph Ravago wipes tears from the eyes of Kamaile Elderts on Tuesday, April 20, 2021, in Washington, after the verdict in Minneapolis, in the murder trial against former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was announced
NEW YORK: AniYa A motions as she walks through Times Square in New York, while talking on her cell phone after a Minnesota jury found Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin guilty of murder and manslaughter
NEW YORK: AniYa A motions as she walks through Times Square in New York, while talking on her cell phone after a Minnesota jury found Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin guilty of murder and manslaughter
Chauvin was convicted on charges of third-degree murder, second-degree unintentional murder and second-degree manslaughter over the death of unarmed black man George Floyd in Minneapolis last Memorial Day.
Outside of Cup Foods, where Floyd had been just before he was killed, a man tearfully led people gathered in cheering his name.
In Louisville, Kentucky – where Breonna Taylor was killed last year – a man named Neal Robertson said: ‘It’s about damn time,’ WHAS reported.
WASHINGTON D.C.: Allison Haywood, left, hugs her mother, Cheryl Haywood, as she reacts to the verdict in Derek Chauvin’s trial near St. John’s Episcopal Church
MINNEAPOLIS: People celebrate the guilty verdict in the Dereck Chauvin trail at the intersection of 38th Street and Chicago Avenue
MINNEAPOLIS: People celebrate the guilty verdict in the Dereck Chauvin trail at the intersection of 38th Street and Chicago Avenue
MINNEAPOLIS: A woman cries as the verdict is announced in the trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin outside the Hennepin County Government Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota
WASHINGTON D.C.: London Williams, left, and Stephanie Toledo, right. react after a Minneapolis jury convicted former police officer Derek Chauvin on all counts of the murder of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, in Black Lives Matter Plaza
MINNEAPOLIS: A woman cries after hearing the verdict in Derek Chauvin trial at the intersection of 38th Street and Chicago Avenue in Minneapolis, Minnesota
HOUSTON: Charles Hall talks about the verdict in the murder trial against former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin, Tuesday, April 20, 2021, in the neighborhood where George Floyd grew up
‘Welcome to America. It’s about time. We’re waiting for this,’ the man says.
A woman screams through a megaphone: ‘It’s guilty! It’s guilty!’
‘We have to build back up our city too. We’ve got a lot of work to do. Not only with Breonna Taylor, we’ve got a lot of other things we have to do. You know what it is,’ Robertson said.
WASHINGTON D.C.: Diners at a restaurant stand up and cheer, clapping their hands after the verdict was read on the television
WASHINGTON D.C.: Diners at a restaurant stand up and cheer, clapping their hands after the verdict was read on the television
WASHINGTON D.C.: President Joe Biden speaks after the verdict was announced on Tuesday
WASHINGTON D.C.: Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-IL) watches the announcement of the verdict in the Derek Chauvin murder trial on her phone in the Rayburn Room at the U.S. Capitol
WASHINGTON D.C.: People gather to celebrate the guilty verdicts in the case of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer accused of killing George Floyd Verdict in the State v. Derek Chauvin Trial
NEW YORK: Ingrid Noel And Robert Bolden embrace, after the verdict in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, found guilty of the death of George Floyd, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York City
NEW YORK: Spike Lee takes a photograph with children after the hearing the verdict in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in Brooklyn, New York City
NEW YORK: After former Minneapolis, Minnesota Police Officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty on all three charges in the death of George Floyd, a group of Black Lives Matters and members of the Justice For George group held a Community Peace Walk and walked by the famous Apollo Theater on 125th Street in Harlem
NEW YORK: Tyler Miggins reacts in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan after the verdict in the trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin, who is facing murder charges in the death of George Floyd
NEW YORK: A crowd gathers at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, following the verdict in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, found guilty of the death of George Floyd
HOUSTON: Ceci Munoz sits in the street as she cries and reacts at Yates High School, Tuesday, April 20, 2021, in Houston, Texas after learning that former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of murder and manslaughter in the death of George Floyd
HOUSTON: People gather inside a convenience store in the Houston neighborhood where George Floyd grew up, to listen to the verdict in the murder trial against former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin
HOUSTON: People gather inside a convenience store in the Houston neighborhood where George Floyd grew up, to listen to the verdict in the murder trial against former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin
SACRAMENTO: Stevante Clark, right, brother of Stephon Clark who was fatally shot by Sacramento Police, is hugged by his cousin Steven Ray Collins, left, at Cesar Chavez Park as they listen live to the guilty verdict
ATLANTA: People react near a mural of George Floyd after former Minneapolis Police Department Police Officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty on all counts
MINNEAPOLIS: People react after the announcement that the jury found Derek Chauvin guilty on all three charges for the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis
MINNEAPOLIS: A woman lays flowers at a memorial for George Floyd after the verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial on Tuesday
NEW YORK: A woman places a placard at a makeshift memorial with the image of Daunte Wright after the verdict in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, found guilty of the death of George Floyd
HOUSTON: Ronaly Brooks walks past a mural in the neighborhood where George Floyd grew up Tuesday, April 20, 2021, in Houston
HOUSTON: Lee Singleton reacts to the verdict in the murder trial against former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin, Tuesday after listening to the verdict in the neighborhood where George Floyd grew up
HOUSTON: Lee Singleton reacts to the verdict in the murder trial against former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin, Tuesday after listening to the verdict in the neighborhood where George Floyd grew up
HOUSTON: Ralph Smith reacts to the verdict in the murder trial against former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin, Tuesday, April 20, 2021, in the neighborhood where George Floyd grew up
NORTH CAROLINA: Jesse Padilla, owner of The Right Cut Barber Shop, in Cary and customer Andrew Bardsley watch as the verdict is read in the trial of former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin. Padilla said he was happy to see the verdict and see Chauvin be held accountable for the death of George Floyd. ‘It is not the end, but a step in the right direction,’ he said
After the guilty verdict was read, the Los Angeles Police Department announced that it had called a tactical alert ‘in an abundance of caution.’
‘There are no current unlawful assemblies and the department is proactively taking initiative to ensure adequate resources to respond to any situation should the need arise,’ the LAPD tweeted.
‘We remain committed to ensuring the balance of ensuring public safety of all and being respectful to the community. We strive to protect and serve every member of the community equally.’
In Washington D.C., people were seen standing up and cheering and clapping inside of a restaurant as the verdict was read on the television, WUSA reported.
While Minneapolis was fortified for the duration of the two-week trial – with fences erected and buildings bordered up – there were fears of unrest all across the nation if a not guilty verdict was returned.
Cities across the United States are on high alert in the wake of the Derek Chauvin ‘s murder trial. The 12-person jury found Chauvin guilty on all counts Monday afternoon after just 10 hours of deliberations
Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin is led away in handcuffs after a jury found him guilty on all counts in his trial for second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the death of George Floyd
Portland Mayor Ted called for calm. His city has seen more than 100 nights of rioting since the death of George Floyd last Memorial Day
In addition to Stoll News reporting that the Chicago Police appear prepared to deploy tear gas to disrupt large crowds, Mayor Lori Lightfoot warned residents that looting would not be tolerated.
‘We are prepared to arrest and bring to prosecution anyone who would dare try to take the dreams of our small businesses by looting,’ she vowed.
‘Don’t test us because we are ready.’
Meanwhile in Portland – which has been rocked by frequent unrest since Floyd’s death – Mayor Ted declared a state of emergency and called for calm.
‘It’s my hope that regardless of the jury’s decision, Portlanders will respond with the safety of their neighbors in mind,’ he stated before the verdict was handed down.
Elsewhere, tens of thousands of New Yorkers are planning to hit the streets for demonstrations in spite of the guilty verdict.
Largescale protests are planned in both Brooklyn and Manhattan tonight, with one rally kicking off at Times Square from 6pm.
Police helicopters could be heard hovering over the city shortly before 5pm.
In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis had signed a bill into law on Monday that created a new crime called ‘mob intimidation’ that would deny bail to protesters until their first court appearances, NPR reported.
‘If you riot, if you loot, if you harm others, particularly if you harm a law enforcement officer during one of these violent assemblies, you’re going to jail,’ DeSantis said at the bill signing on Monday.
Under the new Florida law, local officials can also be held liable for lawsuits if someone is injured during protests and strengthens penalties for protesters who block roadways or deface public monuments, according to the outlet.
According to Politico, officials in Washington DC were reportedly debating whether to re-erect outer fencing around the US Capitol amid fear protests would last days or weeks
BLM protesters are seen in Chicago last Friday. Mayor Lightfoot warned residents that looting would not be tolerated
National Guard members are seen through fencing and wire near the Minneapolis Police 3rd Precinct in Minneapolis on Monday