(The Center Square) – Republicans are facing backlash after delegates at the Minnesota Republican Party’s state convention voted to hold a moment of silence for former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin during the party’s endorsement convention last weekend.
The gesture, which occurred just days after the sixth anniversary of George Floyd’s death, drew swift condemnation from Democrats and mixed responses from Republican leaders.
Chauvin was convicted in 2021 of unintentional second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in Floyd’s death during an arrest on May 25, 2020. The incident sparked nationwide protests.
In addition to his state conviction, Chauvin pleaded guilty to federal civil rights charges and is serving concurrent state and federal prison sentences. He has unsuccessfully appealed for a retrial and is a Texas prison serving a 22-year sentence.
Second-term Democratic Attorney General Keith Ellison, whose office helped prosecuted Chauvin, said he was “heartbroken and frankly shocked” by the convention’s actions.
“George Floyd’s children lost their father. His siblings lost their brother,” Ellison said in a statement. “His community lost a neighbor and friend. That loss is permanent and irreparable. To honor the man convicted of murdering George Floyd – days after the very anniversary of that terrible day – is an act of profound cruelty to the Floyd family and to every Minnesotan who believes in accountability under law.”
Ellison added that honoring Chauvin “dishonors the memory of George Floyd.”
Civil rights attorneys Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci, who represented Floyd’s family, also condemned the action.
“The audacity of the Minnesota Republican Party to honor an individual who has both been convicted by a jury of his peers for the murder of a fellow human being, while at the same time violated a professional oath to protect and serve his community, is disgusting,” the attorneys said in a joint statement.
The attorneys called on Minnesota Republican leaders to retract the tribute and apologize to Floyd’s family and Minnesotans.
Minnesota GOP leadership has not issued an apology, but has sought to distance itself from the vote, saying the moment of silence was not planned or endorsed by party leaders.
“To be clear, party leadership did not support this motion,” party leaders said in a statement. “The moment of silent prayer was a spontaneous motion brought forward from the convention floor. It was not part of the official convention program.”
Party leaders emphasized that convention Chairman Danny Nadeau’s role in the vote was procedural and that the action “should not be mischaracterized as an official policy position, platform statement, or message from the Republican Party of Minnesota.”
“It was a floor action taken by delegates, not leadership,” the statement said.
Speaking on a radio show this week, Minnesota GOP Chairman Alex Plechash further emphasized that the request originated from convention delegates.
“That came from the body, of course,” Plechash said. “The body elected to have that moment of silence. … There are a lot of people that believe Derek Chauvin was improperly convicted, and not treated well. Those people wanted to have a moment of silence in recognition because they felt that way.”
Not everyone is distancing themselves from the vote though. U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minnesota and House majority whip, defended the delegates’ actions.
“It’s a sad day in the state of Minnesota when it’s so-called ‘news’ that hundreds of patriotic Minnesotans came together to peacefully and respectfully recognize a member of law enforcement,” Emmer said in a statement provided to Fox 9. “Cover the corrupt and incompetent Walz-Flanagan-Ellison-Simon administration instead.”
