- Elon Musk called Derek Chauvin’s murder conviction unjust and said he should be freed.
- Rep. Shri Thanedar responded with a blistering attack on Musk.
- Chauvin is serving state and federal sentences connected to Floyd’s death and civil-rights violations.
- Chauvin has filed a third post-conviction challenge in Minnesota.
- The clash has reopened debate over one of the defining cases of America’s racial-justice era.
Rep. Shri Thanedar is taking direct aim at Elon Musk after the billionaire publicly defended Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer convicted in the 2020 killing of George Floyd.
Musk wrote on X on Wednesday (19) that Chauvin had been “unjustly convicted of murder” and should be released. He argued that the facts showed Chauvin did not cause Floyd’s death and did not intend for anyone to die.
Thanedar, a Michigan Democrat, responded the following day with an unusually personal attack on Musk.
“This racist ketamine-fueled apartheid baby wants to turn America into the white supremacist state he was molded by,” wrote Thanedar.
He also responded to a user who noted that other officers who were present during Floyd’s arrest were jailed. Musk replied, “Also extremely unfair.”
The confrontation comes as Chauvin makes another legal effort to overturn his Minnesota conviction. His attorneys recently asked the Minnesota Court of Appeals to pause his existing appeal so they can pursue a new post-conviction challenge in Hennepin County District Court.
It is Chauvin’s third effort to obtain post-conviction relief. Previous attempts were rejected, including a petition denied in May 2026. His attorneys have raised procedural and constitutional arguments, including claims involving the authority under which the case was prosecuted and the absence of a grand jury indictment.
Chauvin was convicted in 2021 of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in Floyd’s death. He was sentenced to 22½ years in state prison. He also pleaded guilty in federal court to violating Floyd’s civil rights and received a concurrent 21-year federal sentence.
Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, died on May 25, 2020, after Chauvin, who was white, pressed his knee against Floyd’s neck while Floyd was handcuffed and on the ground. Video of the encounter sparked nationwide protests over police brutality and racial injustice and became a defining moment for the Black Lives Matter movement.
Musk’s intervention has now pulled that debate back into the national spotlight.
For Thanedar, the issue is not simply another legal dispute over a controversial conviction. His response makes clear that he views Musk’s defense of Chauvin as part of a broader political battle over race, policing and the direction of American society.
The sharp exchange also highlights how Floyd’s death continues to divide the country more than six years later. Chauvin’s latest court challenge will be decided through Minnesota’s legal system, but Musk and Thanedar are fighting out their very different interpretations of the case in the public arena.
Ajay Jain Bhutoriax
