In this image from video, Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill discusses motions before the court Monday, April 12, 2021, in the trial of former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin at the Hennepin County Courthouse in Minneapolis. Chauvin is charged in the May 25, 2020 death of George Floyd. (Court TV via AP, Pool)

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The judge in the George Floyd murder case refused a defense request to immediately sequester the jury today, the morning after the killing of a Black man during a traffic stop triggered unrest in a suburb just outside Minneapolis.

The request came from the attorney for former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin. Defense attorney Eric Nelson argued that the jurors could be influenced by the prospect of what might happen as a result of their verdict.

“Ultimately, your honor, the question becomes will the jury be competent to make a decision regardless of the potential outcome of their decision,” Nelson said.

Judge Peter Cahill said he will not sequester the jurors until next Monday, when he anticipates closing arguments will begin. He also denied a defense request to question jurors about what, if anything, they may have seen about unrest following Sunday’s police shooting of 20-year-old Daunte Wright in Brooklyn Center.

In the wake of the shooting, hundreds of protesters broke into businesses, jumped on police cars and hurled rocks and other objects at police in Brooklyn Center. Officers in riot gear fired gas and flash-bang grenades.

Prosecutor Steve Schleicher argued against sequestering the Floyd jury, saying: “I don’t think that would be an effective remedy.”

Schleicher also opposed questioning the jurors, saying: “World events happen. … That’s just what happens. And we can’t have every single world event that might affect somebody’s attitude or emotional state or anything be the grounds to come back and re-voir dire all the jurors.”

The judge had previously asked jurors to avoid news during the trial.

The ruling came as the trial entered its third week, with the prosecution close to wrapping up its case and giving way to the start of the defense. Prosecutors built their on searing witness accounts, experts rejecting Chauvin’s use of a neck restraint, and medical authorities attributing Floyd’s death to a lack of oxygen.