An MMA fighter who witnessed the murder of George Floyd and was a key prosecution witness during the trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin has been charged with domestic assault.
Donald Wynn Williams was arrested following an altercation on Saturday near the Minnesota Street Fairgrounds. The 34-year-old allegedly choked his former girlfriend and hit her in the face outside the State Fair before threatening to kill the police officers who arrested him, according to the criminal complaint.
Following his arrest, Williams denied attacking the woman and told police that he has post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from testifying during the trial of Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer who was convicted last year of murdering Floyd.
The MMA fighter was among the bystanders who begged Chauvin to remove his knee from Floyd’s neck, and later told the 911 dispatcher that the officer “just pretty much killed this guy that wasn’t resisting arrest.”
Williams later testified that Chauvin had used a “blood choke” on Floyd, restricting his circulation and eventually killing him. Chauvin was convicted in April 2021.
The fighter is now charged with felony domestic assault by strangulation and misdemeanor domestic assault. He was booked into jail Monday and released the next day, with a court hearing scheduled for Sept. 26.
According to the charges, the victim suffered a scratch and small bruise to her neck and stated that she “could not breathe and was in fear for her life while Williams was strangling her.”
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