Washington (AFP) - When Keith Ellison left Congress to serve as Minnesota's attorney general last year, he swapped his national platform for a lower profile. But prosecuting a horrific killing by police has thrust him back into the national spotlight.
This week Ellison took over the murder case against a fired Minneapolis police officer whose alleged killing of an unarmed black man, George Floyd, sparked days of protests -- both peaceful and violent -- in dozens of US cities.
In video that has gone viral, then-officer Derek Chauvin was seen pressing his knee for more than eight minutes into the neck of a handcuffed Floyd, who can be heard pleading for his life and saying "I can't breathe" before he goes limp.
Ellison on Wednesday upgraded the charges against Chauvin from third-degree murder to second-degree, and announced charges for three other officers involved in Floyd's death.
Ellison, who is black, said obtaining justice for Floyd and his family was paramount.
He also cautioned that "trying this case will not be an easy thing. Winning a conviction will be hard."
But "I just want to let the public know we are pursuing justice, we are pursuing truth, we are doing it vigorously," he told reporters.
Ellison, 56, is a progressive Democrat and political trailblazer. In 2006 he became the first Muslim ever elected to the US House of Representatives, and the first African-American to represent Minnesota in Congress.
Twelve years later he made history again, as the first Muslim in the country to win statewide office when he became Minnesota's attorney general.
But his career has been marked by controversy too.
He has faced criticism from some Democrats for having supported the Nation of Islam, which has been branded anti-Semitic by the Anti-Defamation League.
The issue arose when Ellison ran for chair of the Democratic National Committee. He lost that race to Tom Perez, but Ellison was voted in as deputy chairman, amplifying progressive voices in the party.
In Ellison's attorney general campaign, accusations of domestic abuse surfaced from an ex-girlfriend who claimed he mistreated her.
His Republican rival in the race pounced on the allegations and used them in campaign advertising, but Ellison weathered the storm.
Last weekend, controversy swirled anew when Ellison's adult son Jeremiah, a Minneapolis councilman, pledged his "support for ANTIFA," an anti-fascist movement accused by Republicans of fomenting violence during the protests.
Ellison said his son was reacting to "the absurdity" of President Donald Trump recently vowing to designate ANTIFA a terrorist organization.
Meanwhile Republican state Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka told Minnesota Public Radio that he believes Ellison is too political a figure to "render justice" in the Floyd murder case.
Governor Tim Walz, however, pointed to the Floyd family's desire that the facts be heard and justice served.
"Having Keith Ellison as lead on the case, that will happen," Walz said.
