Elon Musk has publicly called for the release of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who was convicted in the 2020 murder of George Floyd. Musk's statement on X, formerly Twitter, came after Chauvin's attorneys filed a motion requesting the Minnesota Court of Appeals to pause his current appeal.
In the motion filed Tuesday, Chauvin's legal team argues that his state murder conviction should be vacated. The core of the new claim is that Governor Tim Walz unlawfully assigned Attorney General Keith Ellison to prosecute the case. Chauvin's attorneys contend this constitutes a violation of his due process rights and a "structural error."
"Derek Chauvin was unjustly convicted of murder, therefore he should be freed," Musk posted on X. "The facts show that he was not the cause of death, nor did he at any time intend for a death to occur. Whatever else he may be, he is not a murderer. That is the truth."
The Tuesday motion seeks to halt Chauvin's pending appeal to allow the trial court to review these newly raised procedural claims. These include allegations of improper prosecutor assignment, failure to convene a grand jury, lack of court jurisdiction, and judicial bias. Chauvin's legal team views these as non-waivable errors.
Derek Chauvin was convicted in April 2021 for his role in the death of George Floyd. During the arrest on May 25, 2020, Chauvin knelt on Floyd's neck for nine minutes and 29 seconds as Floyd lay face down and handcuffed on the ground. Floyd died from a lack of oxygen to the brain.
This is Chauvin's third petition for post-conviction relief. His legal team had previously filed an appeal against a judge's decision in May 2026, which denied his initial petition for post-conviction relief that was filed in November 2025. The judge denied Chauvin's entire petition at that time.
The Minnesota Attorney General's office has been contacted for comment regarding the latest motion.