Billionaire CEO and tech mogul Elon Musk was shut down by Bill Russell’s daughter Karen Russell, as the tech giant expressed his support for the idea of pardoning former police officer Derek Chauvin, who was found guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter against George Floyd.
In a post on X, Karen Russel expressed her honest thoughts on Elon Musk supporting a movement calling for the pardon of former police officer Derek Chauvin.
“This is BS!” she posted. “Like we saw Musk do a N*zi salute, we all saw Chauvin murder someone as we watched! I REFUSE to engage with racists trying to sanitize the Murder of George Floyd.”
“WE SAW WHAT WE SAW.”
Bill Russell was a legendary basketball player and civil rights activist who used his platform to fight against racism and inequality. As the first Black head coach in a major American sports league, he paved the way for other athletes to speak out politically. Russell was unapologetically political throughout his career.
Elon Musk on Pardoning Derek Chauvin: “Something to Think About”
Elon Musk, tech CEO and executive chairman of social media platform X, has weighed in on the controversial issue of pardoning Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer convicted in the murder of George Floyd.
Musk amplified a call from conservative commentator Ben Shapiro, who urged President Donald Trump to pardon Chauvin. Musk’s response to Shapiro’s post on X (formerly Twitter) was a simple remark: “Something to think about.”
Shapiro argued that Chauvin’s conviction was the result of an unfair trial environment shaped by external pressures and that Floyd’s death was caused by underlying health conditions and drug use rather than Chauvin’s actions.
In his “letter” to Trump, Shapiro explained why he thought Chauvin ought to be pardoned by the President.
“George Floyd was high on fentanyl. He had a significant pre-existing heart condition. He was saying he could not breathe before he was even out of the car. 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. There was no accusation at trial that Derek Chauvin targeted George Floyd for his race.”
Despite Elon Musk showing support, President Donald Trump has shut down any possibilities and made clear that he is not considering giving a pardon to Chauvin.
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