CNN’s Van Jones on Chauvin Verdict: ‘The Voting Worked,’ ‘The Protesting Worked’

CNN political commentator Van Jones on Wednesday reacted to former Minnesota police officer Derek Chauvin’s conviction on three charges in the death of George Floyd.

Jones told “New Day” that the verdict can be “something new.” He said the people voting and protesting “worked” to bring justice to Floyd and his family.

“This was not the system working. This was people making the system work. That’s the key,” Jones emphasized. “Don’t forget — initially, the police report said, oh, it’s a medical incident, somebody died. What do we know? The initial charging document for the local prosecutor was a joke. Literally, a piece of tissue paper that somebody sneezed on. Nothing. People rose up and said we’re not going to let this go. The governor stepped in; gave the case to Keith Ellison, who is an African-American Muslim progressive guy that everybody rallied around before to get in office. Keith Ellison put so many resources on the table. You’ve never seen a prosecution like that of anybody.”

He continued, “And so what happened is the voting worked. You can tell the young people now voting matters. The protesting worked. You can tell young people marching matters. And the truth. The fact that people got involved with their video cameras and captured it. Citizen engagement matters. So, there’s a formula now to show people we can make the system work for change. That’s what’s new.”

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