A prison inmate in the United States has been charged with attempted murder in the stabbing of Derek Chauvin, the former police officer convicted of murdering George Floyd.
Chauvin was attacked last month in the law library of the Federal Correctional Institution in Tucson, Arizona.
John Turscak, a former gang member serving a 30-year sentence, stabbed Chauvin 22 times and said he would have killed Chauvin if correctional officers had not responded so quickly, federal prosecutors said on Friday.
Turscak told FBI agents that he attacked Chauvin on Black Friday to invoke the Black Lives Matter movement, which drew attention to racism and police brutality in the wake of Floyd’s death.
Turscak told investigators he had thought about attacking Chauvin for about a month because of his status as a high-profile prisoner, although he later denied wanting to kill Chauvin, according to prosecutors.
The US District Attorney’s office in Tucson said it had charged Turscak with attempted murder, assault with intent to commit murder, assault resulting in serious bodily injury, and assault with a dangerous weapon.
The Minnesota Attorney General’s office said in a statement after Chauvin was stabbed that the former police officer was expected to survive the attack.
Chauvin, who was filmed kneeling on the Black man’s neck for more than nine minutes, was sentenced to 22 and a half years in prison after being found guilty of murder and manslaughter charges in April 2021.
In June 2022, Chauvin was sentenced to 21 years in prison for violating Floyd’s civil rights in a separate case.
Last month, the US Supreme Court declined to hear Chauvin’s appeal of his conviction for second-degree murder.
Chauvin’s lawyers had argued he was denied his right to a fair trial because of publicity before the trial and concerns that public safety could be threatened if he was acquitted.
