A 52-year-old man identified as John Turscak, a former FBI informant, stabbed former police officer Derek Chauvin 22 times with an “improvised knife,” according to court documents filed on December 1.
The incident occurred in the law library at the Federal Correctional Institution Tucson on November 24 around 12:30 p.m., the day following Thanksgiving known as Black Friday. Turscak informed the FBI upon waiving his Miranda rights that he had considered assaulting Chauvin for a month but denied any intent to kill.
Prosecutors have stated that Turscak’s “Black Friday attack” on Chauvin served a symbolic purpose, linking it to the Black Lives Matter Movement and the “black hand” symbol connected to the Mexican Mafia criminal organization. Turscak has been charged with four different counts, including assault using a dangerous weapon and assault with the intention to kill. Post the stabbing incident, he was transferred to an adjacent federal penitentiary in Tucson where he remains in custody. There is no record of a lawyer listed for Turscak in the court docket.
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