ben crump george floyd
George Floyd family attorney Ben Crump, center, addresses media along with other attorneys and members of George Floyd's family outside the Hennepin County Government Center Monday, March 29, 2021, in Minneapolis where the trial for former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin began with opening statements from both sides.
AP Photo/Jim Mone

George Floyd's family knelt outside the Hennepin County courthouse for 8 minutes and 46 seconds – the same amount of time former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin pinned his knee on Floyd's neck during an arrest in May 2020.

National civil rights attorney Ben Crump and Reverand Al Sharpton joined the family in taking a knee at a press conference Monday morning ahead of Chauvin's trial.

"Last May…this nation and world witnessed a lynching by knee of George Floyd," Sharpton said during the press conference. "We are here to see the case of a man that used his knee to lynch a man, and blamed the man for the lynching."

Chauvin was captured on cellphone video kneeling on Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes while he sobbed that he could not breathe, sparking mass protests against police brutality and racism nationwide last summer. Minneapolis officials are ramping up on security on the ground as demonstrations continue.

Opening statements for the trial of the ex-cop are underway after two weeks of jury selection. Chauvin is charged with second-degree manslaughter, second-degree murder, third-degree murder.

The other officers involved in Floyd's arrest will stand trial in August. Minneapolis agreed to pay Floyd's family $27 million earlier this month in a settlement after the family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city.

In an interview with NBC's "Today" on Monday, Floyd's brother, Philonise Floyd said the family is "feeling good."

"We know that this case, to us, is a slam dunk because we know the video is the proof, that's all you need," Floyd said. "The guy was kneeling on my brother's neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, a guy who was sworn in to protect. He killed my brother in broad daylight."

He echoed Al Sharpton's sentiments calling his brother's death "a modern day lynching."

Read the original article on Insider