Democratic Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison who led the prosecution team that won the conviction of ex-officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd, announced Monday he will seek a second term.
Ellison assembled a team of attorneys in private practice and from his office that persuaded jurors earlier this year to convict Chauvin of murder. Floyd’s death last year became a flashpoint in the national conversation about the deaths of Black Americans at the hands of law enforcement and sparked worldwide protests.
Ellison is Minnesota's first Black attorney general. He was also the first Muslim elected to Congress, a job he left in 2018 to run for attorney general. He was a prominent booster for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ presidential bid.
Ellison and Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington led a task force that proposed steps in 2020 to reduce police-involved deadly force encounters, including a bill for a uniform standard for when such actions are justified and a measure to encourage development of new models for policing.
Party officials said in an announcement ahead of an afternoon news conference that some of Ellison's endorsers would include U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter III and Minnesota Farmers Union President Gary Wertish.
