By Maverick
The death of George Floyd on May 25th, 2020, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, sparked worldwide protests against police brutality and racial injustice. Officially, former police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of murder for kneeling on Floyd’s neck for over nine minutes. However, various conspiracy theories have emerged, questioning the circumstances of Floyd’s death and suggesting alternative motives and perpetrators.
George Floyd was a then 46-year-old African American man, who died after Derek Chauvin, a then Minneapolis police officer, knelt on his neck during an arrest for allegedly using a counterfeit $20 bill in a transaction. The incident was recorded by civilians with their cell phones and police body cams, showing Floyd repeatedly saying that he couldn’t breathe and people yelling at Chauvin to get his knee off of Floyd’s neck. The official autopsy concluded that Floyd’s death was a homicide caused by asphyxiation due to neck compression. Chauvin was subsequently tried and convicted of murder and manslaughter.
The highly volatile political climate, widespread social unrest, and public distrust of the mainstream media created a fertile ground for conspiracy theories. Conspiracy theorists suggest that the entire incident was staged to incite racial tensions and further a political agenda. Alleged inconsistencies in the video footage, claims that key individuals involved were actors, and assertions that the event was too perfectly captured to be real. These claims lack credible evidence due to multiple independent sources, including eyewitnesses and additional video footage, that confirm the authenticity of the event. However, it still doesn’t unequivocally prove that the theories are wrong; we are just expected to “trust the evidence”. The emotional and physical responses of those directly or indirectly involved with the event further discredit the notion of a staged event.
Many suspect it was also staged because of the connection between Chauvin and Floyd having worked at the same nightclub and had overlapping shifts, giving fuel to the conspiracy theory flames that the two men had a prior relationship or knew each other, even though no concrete evidence of that personal tie was throughly provided.
Another theory is that a diabolical shadow government known as the “deep state” orchestrated the incident to undermine the Trump administration and destabilize the country by provoking racial tensions with police. The deep state conspiracy theory is largely speculative on the surface and lacks substantive evidence, even though the mainstream media would literally gaslight the masses and call the subsequent riots a “mostly people protest,” despite buildings burning in the background. So it’s not out of the realm of possibilities to suggest that this event was exploited for political gain. There have been far too many of these police brutality race incidents in recent years for them all to be a coincidence.
Conspiracy theorists also argue that Floyd’s death was caused by a drug overdose rather than Chauvin applying the weight of his knee on Floyd’s neck. Initial toxicology reports indicated the presence of fentanyl and methamphetamine in Floyd’s system, hence why he was claiming that he couldn’t breathe, not because of any harmful action caused by former officer Chauvin. However, the official autopsy ruled the death a homicide due to neck compression. While drugs were present, they were not deemed the primary cause of death, despite the amount of fentanyl and methamphetamine in his system would’ve been enough to kill him. Independent medical experts corroborated this finding, emphasizing the role of asphyxiation. It’s all just based on “trusting the experts,” which in reality isn’t always the best way to prove something as being true. It’s so easy to lie and say xyz happened, and no one is allowed to question the validity of the authorities.
In the 2023 documentary film “The Fall Of Minneapolis” by award-winning investigative journalist Liz Collin, she attempted to set the record straight as to what really happened on May 25th, 2020. Based on conversations with those who were there, including Derek Chauvin, Thomas Lane, and other Minneapolis police officers who’ve never spoken out before, Liz exposed how the facts of that story were distorted to bamboozle and divide America. It is now confirmed that the crisis intervention technique performed by Chauvin was permitted in accordance with the training of a Minneapolis police officer and was present in the training manual.
The real question that remains is, was the technique done correctly, or with excessive force? The autopsy says yes, but we still cannot negate that the drugs in Floyd’s system would’ve ended up killing him anyway. How could they not have contributed to his death? Many even question why Chauvin would carry out such a controversial technique in the public eye, knowing very well how this could incite a riot and increase racial tensions with police officers. The death of George Floyd remains a deeply impactful and controversial event that helped shape the political landscape for the last several years and overlapped into the 2020 election, influencing voters. What do you think happened that day? Please share your thoughts in the comment section. Be well.
