An inmate member at the Federal Correctional Institution in Tucson, Arizona, has been charged with attempted murder for stabbing Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer convicted of murdering George Floyd. John Turscak, 52, allegedly attacked Chauvin in the law library with an improvised knife, stabbing him 22 times, according to federal prosecutors.

Turscak reportedly expressed to correctional officers that he intended to kill Chauvin and would have succeeded if they had not responded swiftly. However, when questioned by FBI agents, he denied wanting to commit murder but admitted to having contemplated assaulting Chauvin for about a month due to his high-profile status as an inmate.

The attack took place on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, in what Turscak claimed was a symbolic connection to the Black Lives Matter movement and the "Black Hand" symbol associated with the Mexican Mafia gang, as per prosecutors.

At present, Turscak, who has represented himself in various court matters from prison, remains in custody without legal representation as no attorney is listed in court records on his behalf.

Chauvin, 47, was transferred to FCI Tucson from a maximum-security Minnesota state prison in August 2022. He is currently serving both a 21-year federal sentence for violating Floyd's civil rights and a 22½-year state sentence for second-degree murder.

Chauvin's lawyer, Eric Nelson, had previously advocated for keeping his client out of the general population, expressing concerns about his safety. In Minnesota, Chauvin was primarily kept in solitary confinement "largely for his own protection," as stated in court papers submitted by Nelson in the past.

The death of George Floyd on May 25, 2020, caused global protests and ignited a national reckoning on police brutality and racism. Chauvin, who is white, pressed his knee on Floyd's neck for 9½ minutes during an arrest, as captured in a bystander video. Floyd, who was Black, repeatedly cried out, "I can't breathe."

As the legal process unfolds, this latest incident highlights the challenges and safety concerns associated with high-profile inmates within the prison system.