‘It behooves us to be prepared’: Walz, other MN agencies weigh in on rumors Trump will pardon Derek Chauvin

State political and law enforcement leaders are preparing for the possibility that President Donald Trump could pardon former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin’s federal conviction in connection with the murder of George Floyd.

Responding to questions from reporters this week, Gov. Tim Walz said the White House has given him no indication that a federal pardon for Chauvin is imminent. Nonetheless, he’s bracing for the possibility, reminding people that even if Chauvin’s sentence is commuted on the federal level, he would be transferred to Minnesota to serve out the remainder of his lengthy state prison term.

“If Donald Trump exercises his constitutional right to do so, whether I agree — and I strongly disagree with him — if he issues that pardon we will simply transfer Derek Chauvin to serve out his 22-and-a-half years in prison in Minnesota," Walz said. “So, no indication whether they’re going to do it or not, but I think it behooves us to be prepared for it. With this presidency, it seems like that might be something they would do.”

Government leaders in Minneapolis acknowledged that rumors of a potential pardon are widespread. With the fifth anniversary of Floyd’s death approaching later this month, they are being cautious in preparing for any civil unrest that could erupt.

“We’ve heard the same rumors as everyone else – but the bottom line is that Derek Chauvin would remain behind bars serving his state sentence even if his federal charges are pardoned,“ Minneapolis Community Safety Commissioner Toddrick Barnette said in a statement. ”To be clear, we have no credible intelligence about any pardon or planned disruptions here in Minneapolis. Since 2020, we’ve overhauled our emergency management plans and out of an abundance of caution are planning for any eventuality.”

An internal email from a deputy city operations officer for Minneapolis informed city employees about how officials will respond if Chauvin is pardoned, noting that city leaders would condemn the action, even though a federal pardon wouldn’t affect Chauvin’s state sentence.

Chauvin’s expected released from federal prison is in November 2037. His expected release from state custody is set for December 2035, after which he would be placed on supervised release until 2043.

In a statement, Attorney General Keith Ellison, whose office led the state prosecution of Chauvin, echoed the sentiment that a pardon by Trump would not lead to Chauvin’s release.

“Derek Chauvin murdered George Floyd in front of the whole world,” said Ellison, who noted that Chauvin’s convictions have been upheld on appeal to the Minnesota and U.S. Supreme Courts. “Trump has no power to pardon Chauvin’s state conviction. None. A pardon of Chauvin’s federal conviction would return him to Minnesota to serve the rest of his sentence in state prison. The only conceivable purpose would be to express yet more disrespect for George Floyd and more disrespect for the rule of law.”

A spokesperson for the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association, whose legal fund paid for Chauvin’s state and federal trial defense but is no longer involved in his case, said there’s been no evidence to support the rumors.

The Minnesota Department of Corrections said there’s been no indication that prison officials need to prepare for Chauvin’s transfer to state prison.

Chauvin is serving a 20-year sentence in federal prison. He pleaded guilty to charges he abused his power as a police officer to deprive Floyd and, before that, a 14-year-old boy, of their constitutional rights to be free from “unreasonable force.” Chauvin is serving that time concurrently with the 22 1/2-year sentence imposed in Minnesota district court for murder and manslaughter convictions in the killing of Floyd. He is being housed at a low-security federal prison in Big Spring, Texas.

This is not the first time rumors have been floated of Trump pardoning Chauvin or the other officers convicted in the 2020 killing of Floyd.

Earlier this year, Elon Musk, one of Trump’s closest allies, invigorated speculation after amplifying a petition asking for a pardon that was brought by right-wing commentator Ben Shapiro.

Publicly, Trump has given no credence to the rumors. “No, I haven’t even heard about it,” Trump told reporters when directly asked whether he would contemplate a pardon in March.

If Trump were to issue pardons, it would mark a dramatic rhetorical shift from the tone of the first Trump administration. After Floyd’s killing, Trump’s U.S. Attorney appointee in Minnesota, Erica MacDonald, announced the federal investigation.

“The death of George Floyd on the streets of Minneapolis was a grave tragedy. It should never have happened,” Trump said from the Kennedy Space Center on May 30, 2020, five days after Floyd’s murder. “It has filled Americans all over the country with horror, anger and grief.”

Two other former officers who pleaded guilty in federal court in connection with the murder of Floyd have already been released. J. Alexander Kueng was released in January. Thomas Lane was released last year. Former officer Tou Thao, who kept back bystanders as Floyd was restrained, remains imprisoned at a federal medical center in Lexington, Ky. He is scheduled to be released in November.

Both Kueng and Lane remain on probation due to their criminal convictions of aiding-and-abetting manslaughter in Hennepin County District Court.

Lane’s probation is set to expire in August. Kueng‘s probation expires in 2026.

If he issues pardons, it would not be the first time Trump offered clemency to convicts who’ve been labeled political prisoners by right-wing commentators and activists. Shortly after taking office, Trump pardoned more than 1,500 people for the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

It’s also not the first time government officials in Minnesota have been leery of Trump’s potential actions regarding criminal justice in Minnesota, which became a hot-button issue during the 2024 presidential campaign after Walz was named the Democratic vice presidential nominee.

Just a day before Trump took office, the city of Minneapolis reached a tentative agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice to secure a long-awaited federal consent decree mandating sweeping police reforms.

Trump’s re-election left the pending consent decree in potential jeopardy and city officials desperate to ink a deal before his second term. The Trump administration expressed hostility to such agreements in the past, denouncing court-enforceable reform efforts as a “war on police” and federal overreach.

Many feared Trump would seek to quash Minneapolis’ protracted push for federal oversight — and, by extension, its ability to rein in misconduct within its police department — nearly five years after the murder of Floyd.

Star Tribune staff writers Allison Kite and Deena Winter contributed to this report.