Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin is currently serving a multi-decade sentence in federal prison for violating the civil rights of the late George Floyd in 2020, in addition to a state conviction for murder.

Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro is now calling for President Donald Trump to pardon Chauvin for his federal conviction, given the hyper-politicization of his case by the prior Democratic administration and other concerns, according to The Hill.

Chauvin was caught on video kneeling on top of a handcuffed and prostrate Floyd for a prolonged period before Floyd's eventual death, which sparked a months-long wave of destructive and deadly anti-cop Black Lives Matter protests and riots across the nation.

A pardon for Chauvin?

Shapiro and his Daily Wire outlet are promoting a petition that urges President Trump to "immediately issue a pardon for Officer Derek Chauvin, who was unjustly convicted and is currently serving a 22-and-a-half year sentence for the murder of George Floyd and associated federal charges."

"As you know, this was the inciting event for the BLM riots that caused $2 billion in property damage in cities across the United States and set America’s race relations on their worst footing in recent memory," the petition continued. "Yet the evidence demonstrates that Derek Chauvin did not murder George Floyd."

The petition provided several examples of narrative-busting facts about the case, but noted, "Perhaps most significantly, there was massive overt pressure on the jury to return a guilty verdict regardless of the evidence or any semblance of impartial deliberation."

That pressure on jurors came in the form of "threats, coercion, and intimidation" from media pundits and politicians who'd "pre-judged" the case and demanded acquiescence to their "preferred narrative."

"Under these circumstances, there was no opportunity for blind justice to work, and a man is now rotting in prison because of it," the petition added. "Make no mistake -- the Derek Chauvin conviction represents the defining achievement of the Woke movement in American politics. The country cannot turn the page on that dark, divisive, and racist era without righting this terrible wrong."

Trump's potential pardon would only apply to the federal conviction

The Hill noted that Chauvin was convicted on state charges of second-degree murder for the death of Floyd and was sentenced to serve 22.5 years in prison, then separately was convicted on federal charges of violating Floyd's civil rights and was sentenced to serve 21 years in prison.

According to MPR News, Chauvin is serving both of those sentences concurrently at a federal prison in Texas and isn't eligible for release until 2038, barring any intervention from the president.

If President Trump were to pardon Chauvin, however, that clemency would only apply to the federal conviction as the president lacks jurisdiction over state matters, and the only tangible result of such a move for Chauvin would be his transfer from the federal institution in Texas to a state penitentiary in Minnesota to serve out the remainder of his state sentence.

Another likely result of a potential Trump pardon for Chauvin would be significant controversy and scandal pushed by Democrats and the media, who would also egg on a resurgence of BLM protests, riots, and violence against police officers and anybody else not aligned with their progressive leftist agenda.

Minnesota AG Ellison opposed to pardon for Chauvin

Unsurprisingly, MPR News noted that Democratic Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison stands firmly opposed to the idea of a pardon for Chauvin.

"Trump has no power to pardon Chauvin's state conviction. None," Ellison said. "The only conceivable purpose would be to express yet more disrespect for George Floyd and more disrespect for the rule of law."