When Justice Is Attacked with Character Assassination: Responding to Right-Wing Attacks on George Floyd and Black Lives Matter

Since the killing of George Floyd in May 2020, many voices from the political right, especially among supporters of Donald Trump, have worked hard to shift attention away from the brutality of what happened. Rather than grapple with the undeniable injustice of a man dying under the knee of a police officer for over nine minutes, they have chosen to focus on Floyd’s past. They bring up his criminal record, his history with addiction, and personal struggles—not to promote healing or understanding, but to discredit him and everything his death came to represent.

These tactics are not accidental. They are strategic moves to undermine the Black Lives Matter movement, to attack the Democratic Party, and to portray the broader movement for racial justice as illegitimate. The message they promote is clear: George Floyd was not a saint, so he should not be honored. He had a record, so the left is wrong to rally behind his name. He used drugs, so the protests were misguided.

What this rhetoric really reveals is a deep unwillingness to confront systemic injustice. Rather than looking at the police brutality that led to Floyd’s death, many would rather dig into his past and say, “Look, he was no hero.” But justice is not about whether someone was perfect. Justice is about whether what was done to them was right or wrong. George Floyd’s record did not kill him. An officer’s knee on his neck did. His addiction did not make him less worthy of life. It made him human, like so many others in our communities who struggle quietly and are too often shamed for it.

It is telling that these accusations often come from the same political corners that minimize white supremacist violence, glorify authoritarian slogans like “law and order,” and oppose basic reforms aimed at accountability in law enforcement. These are the same voices that labeled peaceful protesters as rioters and dismissed the cries of grief from communities across the country as political theatre. Their goal is not to understand or respond to the cries for justice but to silence them.

George Floyd was not made a symbol because he was flawless. He became a symbol because his death laid bare the reality many would rather ignore. His final words, “I can’t breathe,” became a cry of solidarity for people who have been suffocated by systems of power and prejudice for generations. To point to his past and say he deserved what happened is not only cruel but morally bankrupt.

The fact remains: George Floyd’s life mattered. His death mattered. And the reckoning it stirred in society matters still. Those who try to dismiss this by attacking his character are not defending truth. They are defending their comfort, their political narratives, and a system that has long devalued Black life.

If justice is to mean anything, it must be for everyone. Not just the polished. Not just the privileged. Justice must also speak for those who have struggled, fallen, and hoped for a better life. That includes George Floyd. It includes all of us.

Let us not be distracted by character attacks. Let us keep our focus on what is just, what is true, and what kind of society we are called to build.