This afternoon, prosecutors announced that Derek Chauvin, the man directly responsible for the heinous act against George Floyd, will be charged with second-degree murder. Additionally, the three other officers at the scene also face charges. Here are some reactions to the news from some celebs who have been actively engaged in the dialogue. 

Ramsey County Sheriff's Office Getty Images & Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office Getty Images

Ice-T

The rapper has long been vocal about systemic racism in the country, and he shared news of the upgraded charges to Twitter. 

The former officers involved in George Floyd’s murder have been officially charges for their connection to his death. The Attorney General made the announcement today, along with elevating Derek Chauvin’s charge to second-degree murder. Though it’s only the first step, it’s a promising one, at least in the way that politicians and government officials are dealing with Floyd’s death in Minnesota. 

TMZ has officially reported that their mugshots are in. The mugshots of the three officers, a teary-eyed Thomas Lane, J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao, surfaced online earlier today. Along with that, the tabloid publication revealed that the bail for all three of them is set at $1M. It’s a major step forward for justice for George Floyd and his family, though we’ll have to hope that the conviction will be made for their crimes.

The three officers were taken into custody and charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting manslaughter — all felony charges. Each of them are now facing 40 years each for the murder of George Floyd, though it’s unlikely they will be punished with the max. sentence. 

AG Ellison made it clear that he’s making sure that the case against all four officers is as strong as possible, asking the public to be patient while adding that a conviction would be “will be hard.”

Charges against the three other police officers who surrounded George Floyd, while Derek Chauvin kneeled on his neck and killed him, have officially been announced. While this is a small step in the right direction, we are still awaiting charges for the police officers involving in shooting and that killing Breonna Taylor while she slept in her home. Let alone, making changes to the policies in general, the policies which allow for systemic racism to persist. 

Nonetheless, Minnesota Attorney Keith Ellison announced the upgraded charges against Derek Chauvin during a press conference today, upping his charge from third degree murder to second degree murder.

As well, he revealed that arrest warrants have been issued for Tou Thao, Thomas Lane and J.A.Kueng. Chauvin remains in police custody. Finally, Ellison announced that they've filed a complaint "that charges police officer Kueng, Lane and Thao with aiding and abetting murder int he 2nd degree, a felony offense."

Gov. Tim Walz issued a statement following the announcement of these charges, calling it a "meaningful step toward justice for George Floyd."

He continued, " But we must also recognize that the anguish driving protests around the world is about more than one tragic incident. George Floyd's death is the symptom of a disease. We will not wake up one day and have the disease of systemic racism cured for us. This is on each of us to solve together, and we have hard work ahead. We owe that much to George Floyd, and we owe that much to each other."

Check out a clip from the news conference below, where Ellison announces the charges.