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CNN Legal Analyst Floats Evidence-Free Conspiracy Theory About Governors With A Straight Face

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CNN legal analyst Laura Coates suggested that police and elected officials increased security because they received advanced notice that former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin could be found innocent.

Coates said Tuesday on CNN that boarding up buildings decreases public trust in the legal system because people feel that they are being prepared for an acquittal. (RELATED: POLL: Nearly Half Of Americans Think Derek Chauvin Is Guilty)

“You are telling me, if it’s boarded up, you anticipate my unrest, my wrath, you anticipate the evolution of a protest into looting and other things,” Coates said. “And so part of what you’re seeing and part of the unease that you’re speaking about, Van, is that Pavlovian reflex and response to say, ‘what does this mean?'”

“If you are calling out the National Guard, people believe, ‘did you get a heads up, governor? Did you get a heads up, Mr. President? Did you give a heads up, judge? Do you know something that we do not know?'”

The National Guard was activated in anticipation of the verdict in the trial over George Floyd’s death. Nationwide protests and riots broke out after Floyd’s death in May of 2020, and some feared that protests would again turn violent if Chauvin was found innocent.

Chauvin was found guilty of all charges brought against him – second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter. The jury’s verdict was announced Tuesday afternoon.