Ben Shapiro Wants Trump to Pardon George Floyd's Killer
In a petition, the conservative host called on the Trump administration to pardon Derek Chauvin.
Ben Shapiro is at it again, this time calling for the pardon of former police officer and convicted murderer, Derek Chauvin. Chauvin, who was convicted in two separate trials for his role in the murder of George Floyd, was sentenced to 22 and a half years in prison, in addition to another sentence of 21 years, has been a symbol for many right-wingers about the supposed injustice of the Black Lives Matter movement and serves as another block in the foundational white victim-hood mythology of the right.1 2
Derek Chauvin is a Murderer
Through his short video, Shapiro argues a series of oft-repeated arguments for the supposed innocence of former officer Chauvin. In the video and his subsequent petition, he argues that Chauvin was not, in fact, responsible for the death of Floyd. In one instance, Shapiro writes:
Derek Chauvin, for large segments of the widely circulated video of the encounter, had his knee on George Floyd’s shoulder or back, not on his neck; this was confirmed by the autopsy, which showed no damage to George Floyd’s trachea. 3
The argument has been repeated over and over by the right. By arguing that Chauvin had his knee on Floyd’s shoulder, Chauvin-defenders can argue that the true cause of death for George Floyd was not anything Chauvin did. Rather, they argue, Floyd’s death was the product of self-destructive and self-inflicted harm due to drugs.
However, that is far from honest. As Politifact noted when these claims first came out, the video that seemed to suggest Chauvin had his knee on Floyd’s neck only showed the events from after Chauvin had his knee on Floyd’s neck for roughly eight minutes and only after Floyd had gone limp. 4 Decontextualized footage doesn’t change the end result of Floyd’s murder.
Moreover, expert witnesses brought forth during the prosecution explained that Floyd died from a lack of oxygen from Chauvin’s knee pressing him into the pavement. During his testimony, Dr. Martin Tobin, a specialist in lung and critical care at the Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital and Loyola University’s medical school, noted that even a perfect healthy person would have died under the conditions created by Chauvin. Another expert, Dr. Bill Smock, also backed up Dr. Tobin’s testimony. 5
Even when it comes to the supposed from the autopsy report, Shapiro comes up short from providing any evidence of Chauvin’s supposed innocence. While the report uses the phrase “no life threatening injuries identified,” that term doesn’t mean that no asphyxia occurred.When this claim was first promoted by Chauvin defenders, the Associated Press explained that experts using that term are not suggesting the absence of any issue or cause of death. Rather, they are simply suggesting their wasn’t physical signs on the body itself.6 Indeed, the very top of the report notes that Floyd died of “CARDIOPULMONARY ARREST COMPLICATING LAW ENFORCEMENT SUBDUAL, RESTRAINT, AND NECK COMPRESSION” (Pg. 1).7 Simply put, Chauvin killed Floyd and Shapiro is full of it.
Reaping What You Sow
While Ben Shapiro may not like it, and he may very well seek to appeal to the white grievance of his audience, the reality is that Chauvin got exactly what he deserved. Floyd didn’t have to be a saint to have a right to exist, but Chauvin took that right from him.
We could go over how Chauvin was the subject of at least 10 complaints prior to his murder of George of Floyd or how Shapiro’s selective application of the facts render his analysis useless, but I sincerely doubt anyone who believes what Shapiro said about this case would listen. 8 What matters here is that there should be intense and unending pressure on the Trump administration not to interfere in the sentence of Derek Chauvin. If there is any justice in the world, Derek Chauvin should rot in prison for what he did.
Sarah Fortinsky, “Right-Wing Pundit Ben Shapiro Calls for Donald Trump to Pardon Derek Chauvin,” The Hill, March 4, 2025, https://thehill.com/homenews/race-politics/5176151-ben-shapiro-derek-chauvin-trump-pardon/.
Janelle Griffith, “Derek Chauvin Sentenced to 22.5 Years for the Murder of George Floyd,” NBC News, June 25, 2021, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/derek-chauvin-be-sentenced-murder-death-george-floyd-n1272332.
Ben Shapiro, “Pardon Derek Chauvin,” 2025, https://get.dailywire.com/pardon-derek/.
Jon Greenberg, “Instagram Post Ignores Full Floyd Video to Falsely Claim Officer’s Knee Was Not on Floyd’s Neck,” Politifact: The Poynter Institute (blog), April 9, 2021, https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2021/apr/09/instagram-posts/instagram-post-ignores-full-floyd-video-falsely-cl/.
Tammy Webber, et al., “Expert: Lack of Oxygen Killed George Floyd, Not Drugs | AP News,” The Associated Press, April 8, 2021, https://apnews.com/article/derek-chauvin-trial-expert-lack-of-oxygen-killed-floyd-b1092d8b70ea934776161355fdf171a4.
Phillip Marcelo and Melissa Goldin, “George Floyd’s Autopsy Report Is Not New, Does Not Say He Died of an Overdose | AP News,” The Associated Press, May 26, 2023, https://apnews.com/article/fact-check-george-floyd-autopsy-new-892530421961.
Andrew Baker, “HENNEPIN COUNTY MEDICAL EXAMINER’S OFFICE AUTOPSY REPORT” (HENNEPIN COUNTY MEDICAL EXAMINER’S OFFICE, May 26, 2020), https://www.hennepin.us/-/media/hennepinus/residents/public-safety/medical-examiner/floyd-autopsy-6-3-20.pdf.
Isaac Scher, “The Police Officer Who Knelt on George Floyd’s Neck Has Been Involved in Shootings and Was the Subject of 10 Complaints,” Business Insider, accessed March 6, 2025, https://www.businessinsider.com/derek-chauvin-police-history-shootings-violence-george-floyd-2020-5.