Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, a former member of Congress who was elected to the state’s top law-enforcement office, is facing a demand from a lawyer in the George Floyd case that he be jailed.
Courthouse News explained it’s because he’s accused of violating a judge’s gag order in the case.
The motion was filed by lawyer Earl Gray, who is representing officer Thomas Lane.
It seeks a ruling that Ellison, a Democrat, and his deputy chief of staff, John Stiles, be held in contempt and jailed.
They had sent an email announcing the addition of several lawyers to the team prosecuting the cases against Lane, Derek Chauvin, Tou Thao and J. Alexander Kueng.
The press announcement stated: “Out of respect for Judge Cahill’s gag order, I will say simply that I’ve put together an exceptional team with experience and expertise across many disciplines. We are united in our responsibility to pursue justice.”
The email quoted Ellison and was sent by Stiles, CN reported.
But Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill previously had said that no one connected to the case would be allowed to disclose “any information, opinions, strategies, plans or potential evidence.”
Gray said Stiles and Ellison did just that.
Gray wrote: “Ellison should be jailed along with Stiles. There is no reason to announce that these so called ‘super stars’ are joining the prosecution and that they’re doing it for free. It is an obvious statement to the public that these ‘super stars’ believe that our clients are guilty.”
Ellison’s office declined comment Tuesday, including on the additional claim the news release was meant to influence the public.
A lawyer for another defendant also filed a motion calling for sanctions on Ellison.
Defense lawyers also have argued that they should not be subject to the gag order, because it “prevents any mitigating or exculpatory information from entering the public conversation” after prosecutors publicly made their case.