'Good vibes' felt at 38th and Chicago 1 day after verdict

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Emotions in Minneapolis ran high one day after the guilty verdicts in the Derek Chauvin trial.

As Wednesday dawned at George Floyd Square, what has become a sacred space for many felt even more like you walked into church.

"It’s really good," said Alvin Manago, George Floyd’s roommate. "I feel really comfortable and feel really unified. Everybody here is just, you get really good vibes."

Manago held artwork proclaiming Floyd had changed the world. He said it felt more true than ever Wednesday.

"He would be proud of the fact that it’s having, you know, us as human beings, wanting to be together, you know, respect each other," said Manago. "I think he’d want that."

For those drawn to George Floyd Square in the wake of three guilty verdicts for George Floyd’s murder by police, the mood is different but the cause is unchanged.

"My mindset is calm," said Josiah Brooks, of Minneapolis. "I mean, there’s peace, but I feel like we still need a little bit more justice in everything."

It provided them a sense of justice like never before, but knowledge is just one step and it doesn’t change everything.

Some visitors to 38th and Chicago had been there before and others, who traveled to Minneapolis for the verdict, saw the area for the first time.

"We’re feeling relief because a lot of people thought that he was going to get away with it," said Kiera Barnes, of Omaha. "A lot of people thought they were going to walk away from this and it was just going to be no justice."

There was little trust they’d hear the verdicts they did. Now that they have, there is some serenity, some anxiety and, naturally, some grief.

"I’m happy," Manago said. "It’s happiness, but at the same time, it’s a sense of, I feel like I still lost my friend."