A federal inmate has been charged with the attempted murder of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. He is accused of stabbing Chauvin 22 times last week, according to federal prosecutors.
John Turscak, the inmate, allegedly attacked Chauvin with an improvised knife last week at the Federal Correctional Institution in Tucson, Arizona, the U.S. attorney’s office said Friday. Chauvin was seriously injured in the attack.
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The inmate has been charged with attempted murder, assault with intent to commit murder, assault with a dangerous weapon, and assault resulting in serious bodily injury.
Turscak told federal prosecutors that he had been thinking about assaulting Chauvin for a month because the former police officer is so high-profile. Chauvin is in prison for the 2020 murder of George Floyd, whose death led to the nationwide Black Lives Matter movement and protests.
Turscak also told prosecutors that he had chosen Friday, Nov. 24, for the day of the attack for symbolic reasons since it was “Black Friday.” The symbolism alluded to the Black Lives Matter protests and the “Black Hand” symbol of the Mexican Mafia. Turscak is a former member of the Mexican Mafia, which he joined in 1990.
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The former gang member is currently serving a 30-year prison sentence for carrying out crimes while working as a federal informant, according to CBS News. The sentence began in 2001.
Chauvin, who was hospitalized following the attack, is serving a 22 ½-year sentence for kneeling on Floyd’s neck for 9 ½ minutes, which resulted in Floyd’s death. Chauvin is serving a 21-year federal sentence for violating Floyd’s civil rights and a 22 ½-year state sentence for second-degree murder. The sentences began last year.
