[30] In December 2021, Chauvin pleaded guilty to federal charges of violating Floyd's civil rights by using unreasonable force and ignoring his serious medical distress.

[48][49] Chauvin and Floyd sometimes worked overlapping shifts as security guards for a local nightclub, but the club's former owner was unsure of the extent of their acquaintance.

[63][56] Lane's application to join the police department had portions covering his criminal history redacted, including convictions for obstructing legal process and damaging property when he was 18.

[65] On the evening of May 25, 2020, sometime before 8:00 pm, Floyd purchased cigarettes at Cup Foods, a grocery store at the intersection of East 38th Street and Chicago Avenue in Minneapolis's Powderhorn Park neighborhood.

[15]: 0:49 [67]: 1:24 [70][b]At 8:08, Kueng and Lane arrived, briefly entering Cup Foods before crossing the street to Floyd's SUV,[15]: 1:41 [67]: 2:00  parked in front of a restaurant, Dragon Wok.

[80] Cup Foods security footage shows Kueng struggling with Floyd for at least a minute around 8:18 in the driver's side backseat while Thao watches.

[15]: 6:35 [67]: 7:43 [16] At 8:32, firefighters arrived at Cup Foods;[15]: 6:56 [67]: 7:56  according to their report, the police officers gave no clear information about Floyd's condition or whereabouts, which delayed their ability to find the ambulance.

[67]: 7:56 [96] Meanwhile, the ambulance reported that Floyd was entering cardiac arrest and again requested assistance, asking firefighters to meet it at the corner of 36th Street and Park Avenue.

[109] Baker's final autopsy findings,[110][107] issued on June 1,[111] found that Floyd's heart stopped while he was being restrained and that his death was a homicide caused by "cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression".

[122] From the evidence available to them, which did not include a toxicology report or unspecified bodily samples, they found that Floyd's death was a homicide caused by asphyxia due to neck and back compression.

[132] Hennepin County Attorney Michael O. Freeman, the local official with jurisdiction to bring criminal charges for police misconduct, said his office needed more time to investigate.

[133] In explaining the anticipation of the media briefing and its two-hour delayed start, U.S. Attorney Erica MacDonald said, "I thought we would have another development to talk to you about, but we don't."

[134] Chauvin believed his prospects of winning at trial could be poor, and was willing to plead guilty to third-degree murder for a ten-year prison sentence.

[160] On May 12, 2021, Judge Cahill allowed for the prosecution to seek a greater prison sentence than the 12.5-year state guideline after finding that Chauvin treated Floyd "with particular cruelty.

[172] The federal civil rights trial was initially scheduled to include all four officers—Chauvin, Kueng, Lane, and Thao—and begin in January 2022 with U.S. District Judge Paul A. Magnuson presiding.

[186][187] When the trial resumed, officer Nicole Mackenzie testified that Kueng and Lane were in a medical training course that she instructed, and that her course included lessons in first aid.

[189] Use-of-force expert Tim Longo testified that Chauvin was acting outside of department protocol and the other officers should have intervened to save Floyd,[190] although Lane's defense questioned this view.

[192] Thao claimed that he was not aware that Floyd was suffering medical problems until he was taken into the ambulance, and that the technique of kneeling on a detainee's neck was "not uncommon", although he denied having ever done so.

After finding them guilty, the jury concluded that the cause of Floyd's death was Chauvin's restraint, which permitted the judge to consider a lengthier sentence than the recommended three to four years in prison.

[204] The state criminal trial of Kueng, Lane, and Thao was delayed several times to allow the federal civil rights case to proceed first.

[206] Lane pleaded guilty in Hennepin County District Court on May 18, 2022, to the charge of aiding and abetting manslaughter related to the murder of George Floyd.

The legal move required attorneys to submit evidence to the court for review by Peter Cahill, the same judge as in Chauvin's criminal trial.

The state argued that Thao knew the restraint on Floyd was dangerous and that he encouraged the other officers' actions by holding concerned onlookers back.

Thao's guilty verdict was the last case to be prosecuted in state or federal court for the four Minneapolis police officers who had varying roles in Floyd's murder.

[221] Protests began locally on May 26 in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area before quickly, within a few days, spreading nationwide and in over 60 countries internationally supporting Black Lives Matter.

[222][223] Many of the demonstrations involved die-ins, with protestors lying down for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, the length of time initial reports said Chauvin knelt on Floyd's neck.

[250] By June 14, protests had extended into a third week after Floyd's murder in many cities, accompanied by calls to reform and defund police departments throughout the United States.

[223] The area near the location where Floyd was murdered became a makeshift memorial throughout May 26, with many placards paying tribute to him and referencing the Black Lives Matter movement.

Former Vice President and the 2020 presumptive and eventual Democratic nominee, Joe Biden, met with the Floyd family privately and gave a video message at the funeral.

[268] PEN America CEO Suzanne Nossel said that Frazier's act sparked a "bold movement demanding an end to systemic anti-black racism and violence at the hands of police.