Six years after Derek Chauvin murdered George Floyd, Minnesota Republicans honored him at their state convention.

According to the New York Times, at the Minnesota Republican Party's endorsement convention on Saturday (May 30), a delegate called for a moment of reflection for Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer currently serving more than 22 years in a federal prison for Floyd's murder.

Convention chair Rep. Danny Nadeau put the motion to an informal vote; the ayes rang out clearly, and a 10-second silence followed. The convention had roughly 2,300 delegates in attendance.

The timing was not lost on anyone. Five days earlier, May 25, marked the sixth anniversary of George Floyd's death.

The delegate who brought the motion, Christopher Rocco of St. Paul, told the New York Times he acted alone — no party leadership, no candidate had asked him to do it.

"I made that decision to stand up for someone who doesn't have the ability to stand up for himself anymore," he said. Nadeau, who said beforehand he preferred Rocco not bring the motion forward, intentionally kept the silence brief. "I wanted it to be short," he told the Minnesota Reformer.

Party leadership moved quickly to distance themselves, calling it a "spontaneous motion" not representative of the party's position. But the damage was done — and the backlash was swift.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, who prosecuted Chauvin in 2021, said in a statement to the Minnesota Star Tribune that the moment "dishonors the memory of George Floyd and wounds his loved ones all over again."

"I am deeply troubled by what this says about the state of our politics," Ellison said.

Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci, attorneys for the Floyd family, called the moment of silence "disgusting" in a statement to MPR News and urged all who participated to "deeply reflect on the rule of law."

Democratic state House candidate Jason Heaser also spoke out, telling the New York Times, “Rather than a moment of silence to honor the service members killed this year in combat across the globe, they chose a political stunt to honor a man unanimously convicted by a jury of his peers for murder."

Republican Congressman Tom Emmer pushed back in a statement to Fox 9, calling it "news" that "hundreds of patriotic Minnesotans came together to peacefully and respectfully recognize a member of law enforcement."

Kendall Qualls, the Republican endorsed for governor at the same convention, deflected questions about whether he would have approved the tribute in an interview with WCCO — and did not answer when asked whether he would vote to pardon Chauvin.

The party that honored George Floyd's killer is now asking Minnesota voters to hand them the governorship.

Voters will have their say in November.

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