This needs to be filed under “what could possibly go wrong?” Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison – yes, THAT Keith Ellison – is going to be prosecuting former police officer Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz says he made the decision to transfer the case to Ellison because a handful of Minnesota legislators asked him to. The Floyd family apparently also made the request for Ellison to handle the case, instead of Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman.

Walz said that he had spoken extensively with Floyd’s family, who had asked that Ellison take over the case, and that “they were very clear they wanted the system to work for them, they wanted to believe that there was trust.”

“This decision is one that I feel takes us in that direction and the step to start getting the justice for George Floyd,” Walz said.”

Ellison, a Democrat who represented Minneapolis in Congress from 2007 to 2019, said repeatedly that it was too early to answer questions about the case, but he said that he and Freeman “had an excellent conversation” and that “we will be working together.”

Now, the Floyd family may trust Keith Ellison more than Mike Freeman. And it might be appropriate to have Ellison, as Minnesota AG, handle the case.

It with a large degree of humility and a great seriousness, I accept for my office the responsibility for leadership on this critical case involving the killing of George Floyd.

We are going to bring to bear all the resources necessary to achieve justice in this case. pic.twitter.com/XXafzFT0Kd

— Attorney General Keith Ellison (@AGEllison) June 1, 2020

But this is KEITH ELLISON. Friend of Louis Farrakhan. Former DNC co-chair. Former congressman, who got to walk away from domestic abuse allegations and managed to get under the #MeToo radar. Fan of Antifa.

The Attorney General of Minnesota openly endorsing a Terrorist Organization that is Burning his state to the ground. pic.twitter.com/y3zZk2dHp1

— Benny (@bennyjohnson) May 31, 2020

Ellison has now apparently stealth-deleted the tweet that went with the above image, but the internet remembers. And Ellison’s son is proudly declaring his own support for Antifa.

I hereby declare, officially, my support for ANTIFA

Unless someone can prove to me ANTIFA is behind the burning of black and immigrant owned businesses in my ward, I’ll keep focusing on stopping the white power terrorist THE ARE ACTUALLY ATTACKING US! https://t.co/m6jxtDYmTi

— Jeremiah Ellison (@jeremiah4north) May 31, 2020

Any defense attorney worth their paycheck has got to be considering Ellison’s history as a hard-left progressive and his own record of anti-police bias and beginning to construct the argument for a recusal motion, at the very least. For crying out loud, Ellison tried to split a hair when the rioting began in Minneapolis, asking the rioters to be nice to the National Guardsmen because they WEREN’T police!

Another concern with putting Ellison in charge of the case is that we know that the Floyd family wants Derek Chauvin charged with first-degree murder. Hennepin County Attorney Freeman only charged Chauvin with third-degree murder and manslaughter. Most legal chatter online agreed that charging Chauvin with first-degree murder would result in an acquittal, as there is no way that a prosecutor could prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Chauvin intended to kill George Floyd. And remember that the jury acquitted George Zimmerman – though we have to keep reminding everyone that he was not law enforcement, as Trayvon Martin’s death keeps getting lumped in with other cases – because it was apparent that the prosecutor had reached too far with a second-degree murder charge. Freeman, when he charged Chauvin, felt that third-degree murder was the appropriate charge, with manslaughter as the alternative. If Ellison ups the charges to satisfy the Floyd family, and Chauvin is acquitted as a result… well, if you think Minnesota is aflame now, it is a backyard campfire compared to what would happen if Chauvin walked. If the Floyd family trusts Ellison, and Ellison wants to do his duty by the family and the people of Minnesota, then it is HIS responsibility to explain to the Floyd family that first-degree murder is not an option. To not do so, and simply increase the charges for the optics, would be negligence of the highest order.

I have my doubts that Keith Ellison can act honestly and fairly in the prosecution of this case. If he increases the charges, then we can assume that he isn’t acting in the best interests of justice. We shall have to wait and see – and keep putting out the fires that Antifa starts, which Ellison, knowing his sympathies, is probably applauding behind closed doors.

Featured image: Keith Ellison (as Congressman in 2018), official portrait, public domain