Tou Thao, one of the police officers wrongly victimized to appease the racist mobs rampaging around the country after the drug overdose death of career criminal George Floyd, provided a noble example of faith and courage.
Knowing the system is rigged against him, Thao maintained his dignity, quoted at length from religious teachings and refused to confess to some sort of imaginary crime that he did not commit.
In a grotesque miscarriage of justice, Thao, who was not even touching George Floyd when the vicious criminal was suffering a drug overdose due to the high levels of fentanyl in his system, was sentenced to over 4 years in prison.
Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill, seeking to court favor with the lynch mobs baying for the blood of these fine officers, hit Thao with an even higher prison sentence than the prosecution had demanded, while complaining that Thao never showed any “remorse”.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, a racist former member of the Nation of Islam hate group with a long history of spewing hate, complained that Thao had stuck to his Christian faith and refused to express “remorse” or take “responsibility” for Floyd’s drug overdose death.
“I know we cannot hide our thoughts or intent from God. For we must give an account on the day we appear before God. Therefore I must obey, to hold on to the truth I did not commit these crimes,” Thao told the court. “My conscience is clear.”
Thao, a man of principle and courage, had declared that “it would be a lie and a sin” to confess to a crime he did not commit.
Thao closed with saying that he is praying for everyone in the room, including Cahill, and that if anyone needs him for prayer, “you know where to find me.”
“Thank you, judge,” he said. “God bless you.”
Now the father of three has been consigned to a brutal prison system. His children will grow up without a father. A twisted society that makes a brutal monster like George Floyd into a hero and punishes men like Thao while ignoring their statements of conscience is disgraceful. In the face of the lies and abuse, Thao has been a model of courage, conviction and decency. May our society learn from his example.