A judge in Minnesota has set a March 8 trial date for the four former police officers accused in the death of George Floyd.

At an omnibus hearing Monday, Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill said the trial date assumed that the former Minneapolis Police Department officers — Derek Chauvin, 44, who knelt on Floyd's neck and is charged with second-degree murder; J. Alexander Kueng, 26; Thomas Lane, 37; and Tou Thao, 34 — would be tried together, but he said that he expected motions to be filed by their attorneys for separate trials.

Cahill also warned that he was prepared to move the trials out of Minneapolis if public officials and attorneys didn't stop speaking publicly about the case.

Cahill asked Minnesota Assistant Attorney General Matthew Frank whether prosecutors were addressing the matter with public officials.

In a rare move Friday, defense attorneys for the former officers consented to electronic media coverage of the hearings, saying it would "let a cleansing light shine" on the proceedings, according to Minnesota Public Radio.