Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp booed and Raffensperger censured at state GOP convention
06 June 2021
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) was booed at the Georgia GOP convention, where a resolution was passed to censure Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger for ignoring former President Trump's pressure to overturn the state's 2020 election results.
Why it matters: The action shows the grip Trump has on the Republican Party in the state.
- It reflects a similar pattern nationally, with several U.S. lawmakers who voted to impeach the former president for the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection censured by the GOP in their states.
Details: Raffensperger was censured for a "dereliction of his constitutional duty" over the presidential election, according to the resolution obtained by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The big picture: Trump has continued to attack Republicans who did not back his false claims about the presidential election. These include Kemp and Raffensperger, who are both up for re-election in 2022.
- In March, Trump endorsed Rep. Jody Hice (R-Ga.) in his bid to unseat Raffensperger.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.