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The widespread view that a third-degree murder against Chauvin was insufficient, as well as anger at the lack of charges against the other officers on the scene, helped drive the spread of mass protests across the US over recent days.

Following the release of the initial charges, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz announced that Ellison, who is black, would take over the prosecution from Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman, who is white.

At a press conference in St Paul, Minnesota, Ellison said he decided to upgrade the murder charge based on the evidence prosecutors had gathered.

"I did not allow public pressure to impact our decision-making process," he said. "I was prepared to withstand whatever calls came."

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Ellison said: "George Floyd mattered. He was loved, his family was important, his life had value. We will seek justice for him...and we will find it."

The charges came as the Hennepin County medical examiner's office released the full autopsy results performed on Floyd with his family's permission.

Disclosed in the report was that Floyd tested positive for COVID-19 in early April, although the autopsy did not cite that as a factor in his death.

Before releasing the full report, the examiner's office summarised in two public disclosures that Floyd died as a result of "cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression". It also listed "arteriosclerotic and hypertensive heart disease," as well as fentanyl intoxication and recent methamphetamine use as "other significant conditions".

The second report's findings focused heavily on asphyxia being caused by Chauvin pinning Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes with his knee while fellow Lane put his weight on the 46-year-old's back and constricted his chest.

In a statement released by lawyer Benjamin Crump, Floyd's family said: "We are deeply gratified that Attorney-General Keith Ellison took decisive action in this case, arresting and charging all the officers involved in George Floyd's death and upgrading the charge against Derek Chauvin to felony second-degree murder.

"This is a significant step forward on the road to justice, and we are gratified that this important action was brought before George Floyd's body was laid to rest.

"That is a source of peace for George's family in this painful time."

Walz, the Minnesota Governor, described the new charges as "a meaningful step toward justice for George Floyd".

But he added: "We must also recognise that the anguish driving protests around the world is about more than one tragic incident."

- with Star Tribune (Minneapolis)