Convicting a police officer of murder or creating more oversight won’t stop the killing Stephanie Keith/Getty Images On Sunday, the day before the opening of the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, charged with murdering George Floyd, protesters gathered around the county court building, in black T-shirts that read, “A man was lynched in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020.” The building has been largely emptied out, 58 judges sent home to conduct court business by video conference. “The fear of having the government center overrun is real,” Chief Hennepin County District Judge Toddrick Barnette told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. “After January 6, there was a significant change in how we’re going to protect the buildings and how we’re going to protect the people coming and going in the courthouse.” The building itself has been transformed into “something reminiscent of Cold War-era Berlin,” observed Matt Sepic at MPR News. “The grounds are encircled with concrete barricades, chain-link fencing and razor wire.” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has now asked the state legislature to pass Governor Tim Walz’s proposed security fund for the trial of $35 million.