The 10-year-old witness who testified against Derek Chauvin said Wednesday that she is “kinda proud” that she helped get him convicted for George Floyd’s murder — and is now writing a book about it.
Judeah Reynolds — who was just 9 when she witnessed Floyd’s death in Minneapolis last May — told “Good Morning America” how she watched Tuesday’s verdict on TV at home with her parents.
“My mom said that we brought change. My dad said that we won,” she said with a wide smile.
Asked how she felt, she said modestly, “Kinda proud.”
The youngster had begged Chauvin to “get off of him” when he was pinning Floyd to the ground — a plea that prosecutors said showed that even a child knew that what the Minneapolis cop was doing was wrong.
Judeah told Robin Roberts that she is now penning a book about her experience, calling it “Judeah’s Walk to the Store.”
She hopes the story will “‘teach people to be brave and bring change into their story,” she told the ABC show.
LaToya Turk, a family friend who has been supporting Judeah and giving mental health care to her family, called the youngster a “history changer.”
“Her persistence about going to the store that day has changed policing in America,” she said of the youngster’s trip to get snacks that ended with her witnessing Floyd’s heartbreaking murder.
“For Judeah, I don’t think she realizes the magnitude that she has changed the world,” Turk said.
Another crucial witness, former MMA fighter Donald Williams, 33, also told “GMA” of his pride at giving evidence that will help bring much-needed “change.”
He recalled his tears on the stand — saying he was overwhelmed at having to watch the video of Floyd’s death after nearly a year of having avoided it.
He said it was “heartbreaking” and “very, very emotional to relive that scene again in court.”
He believed that his history in martial arts helped provide key testimony because it helped him “explain and paint a picture to the world about what I actually seen, and knew what I was speaking on,” he said of his knowledge that Chauvin’s actions were like a “kill choke” move.
In a lighthearted moment, Williams told interviewer Michael Strahan that he was “actually sweating a little bit” talking to him — because the ex-football player was “one of my favorite defensive players.”
