Ilhan Omar: Chauvin Trial Has Been ‘Re-Traumatizing,’ Really ‘Horrendous to Watch the Defense Put George Floyd on Trial’

Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-MN) spoke of the renewed trauma Minneapolis has felt last week as the country watched Derek Chauvin’s murder trial over the death of George Floyd.

CNN’s Jake Tapper interviewed Omar on Sunday for State of the Union, and he began by asking her what it felt like to watch the trial play out in her hometown. Omar called the trial “re-traumatizing” and that many people in Minneapolis have tried to avoid watching the trial, even with all the details that came up as it unfolded.

“It’s been really hard,” Omar said. “I think the one part that stayed with me is the fact that everyone who took the witness stand said they felt helpless. That is a feeling that we know really well here in Minneapolis when it comes to police abuse.”

Omar went on by saying that the trial “has unearthed so much trauma,” recalling the helplessness she felt when she witnessed police abuse years ago.

Tapper moved ahead by asking Minneapolis is “prepared” for the possibility that the trial again with a hung jury or Chauvin being found not guilty.

Omar answered that even though there’s “a lot of confidence” in the prosecutors, the community is “on edge” since “we have seen justice not delivered in our community for many years.” She also added that “it’s been really horrendous to watch the defense put George Floyd on trial instead of the former police officer who’s charged with his murder.”

Watch above, via CNN.

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