MINNEAPOLIS — The state trial of two fired Minneapolis police officers charged in connection with the death of George Floyd two years ago has been delayed from next week until January.
The cases against Tou Thao and J. Alexander Kueng have been rescheduled for a joint trial on Jan. 5, with jury selection set for Jan. 9 and opening statements on Jan. 30, Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill ruled Monday. Jury selection in the case was set to begin June 14. Opening statements were slated for July 5.
A defense request for a change of venue for the trial because of pretrial publicity was denied. Cahill wrote that Floyd's death and subsequent events "have had saturation news coverage" in the state and nationally, and the defendants "have not developed ... any firm basis upon which this court might conclude there exist other counties in this state that have been less impacted by the pervasive, saturation publicity George Floyd's death on May 25, 2020, and these cases have received."
