Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) embraces Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) as members of the Congressional Black Caucus react to the verdict in the Derick Chauvin murder trial in the Rayburn Room at the U.S. Capitol on April 20, 2021 in Washington, DC.Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
- Photos show Reps. Cori Bush and Ayanna Pressley in a tearful embrace following Derek Chauvin's guilty verdict Tuesday.
- Chauvin was found guilty on all three charges in the killing of George Floyd, whose death sparked worldwide protests against racial injustice.
- "Black men, I love you, and you deserve to grow old," Pressley tweeted after the verdict.
Rep. Cori Bush, a Democrat from Missouri and Black Lives Matter activist, could be seen crying as she embraced Rep. Ayanna Pressley.
Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) (C) and Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) walk with their arms around each other as members of the Congressional Black Caucus walk to a news conference following the verdict in the Derick Chauvin murder trial in the Rayburn Room at the U.S. Capitol on April 20, 2021.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Bush, a freshman congresswoman and Missouri's first Black Congresswoman, said in a statement following the verdict that Chauvin's trial "has been nothing short of a traumatizing, painful and gut-wrenching reminder of how difficult it is to hold police accountable when they murder members of our community."
"Over the last month, we've been retraumatized, over, and over again as we watched 8 minutes and 46 seconds become 9 minutes and 29 seconds," she wrote in the statement.
"Listening to the verdict today, I wanted to be overjoyed. But the truth is we should not have to wait with bated breath to find out whether accountability will be served."
Source: Business Insider, Cori Bush
"The moment we heard the verdict, we held each other," Bush wrote on Twitter with a video of her hugging Pressley, who is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus. "This feeling is not easy. But all of us will carry each other through this."
Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., left, hugs Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., in the Rayburn Room in the U.S. Capitol after the reading of guilty verdicts in the Derek Chauvin trial on Tuesday, April 20, 2021.
Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Pressley responded to Bush's tweet, writing she was "so very grateful this justice seeker is my sister & colleague."
"There was so much exchanged in this sisterly embrace," Pressley tweeted. "History. Love. Trauma & Resolve. Our work is not done. We must contd fighting & legislating to save Black lives."
Source: Twitter, Twitter
In a tweet following the reading of Chauvin's guilty verdict, Pressley tweeted: "Black men, I love you, and you deserve to grow old."
Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) (C) and Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) walk with their arms around each other as members of the Congressional Black Caucus walk to a news conference following the verdict in the Derick Chauvin murder trial in the Rayburn Room at the U.S. Capitol on April 20, 2021.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
"Despite today's guilty verdict, this system can never deliver true justice for George Floyd and his family," Pressley said in a statement. "True justice would be George Floyd, alive today, at home with his fiancé, children, and siblings."
"The truth is that we never expected justice from this trial," she continued. "We demanded accountability. Today, a jury delivered accountability and Chauvin will face consequences for his actions."
Source: Rep. Ayanna Pressley