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Chauvin Trial Juror Says She Feared Intimidation at Her Home, Riots If Verdict Wasn't Accepted

Katie Pavlich
Katie Pavlich  |  April 23, 2021 6:00 AM

During an interview with KARE 11 a juror for the trial of ex-Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin, who ultimately found out she was an alternate, expressed concern about being called for the job because she "didn't want to see rioting again" and was scared people would show up at her home if they were unhappy with a particular verdict. 

Raguse: Did you want to be a juror?

Christensen: I had mixed feelings. There was a question on the questionnaire about it and I put I did not know. The reason, at that time, was I did not know what the outcome was going to be, so I felt like either way you are going to disappoint one group or the other. I did not want to go through rioting and destruction again and I was concerned about people coming to my house if they were not happy with the verdict.

Despite a fear of riots, Christensen still believes Chauvin was guilty on all three charges of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the death of George Floyd. This was the verdict the jury unanimously handed down Tuesday afternoon.

"Christensen, who lives in the city where a white officer shot and killed a 20-year-old Black man during a traffic stop this month, said that if she had been part of deliberations, she would've found Chauvin guilty. But Christensen had no idea that she was one of two alternates until the judge dismissed her right before the 12 jurors were sequestered," KARE 11 reports. 

After closing arguments on Monday, Chauvin's attorneys asked the judge for the case to declare a mistrial after Democrat Congresswoman Maxine Waters called for violent rioters to get "more confrontational" if a guilty verdict wasn't reached. While the judge denied the request, he said they may have a case if they file an appeal.