The Minnesota Republican Party paused during its convention over the weekend to pay tribute to Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer convicted of murder in the 2020 killing of George Floyd. The gathering in Duluth on Saturday approved a moment of silence for Chauvin, who's serving a prison sentence of more than 20 years, the New York Times reports. The delegate who brought the motion said Chauvin should receive a state retrial and a federal pardon; a voice vote captured by the Minnesota Reformer showed loud support and relatively few audible objections.
Party leaders said the tribute wasn't their idea, but Democrats aren't placated. State Rep. Danny Nadeau, who ran that portion of the convention, called it "not a good look" and said he kept the pause to "the minimum." GOP Chair Alex Plechash stressed it was a spontaneous floor move, telling KMSP, "There are a lot of people that believe Derek Chauvin was improperly convicted, and not treated well." Democratic Attorney General Keith Ellison, who prosecuted Chauvin, accused Republicans of either accepting or refusing to condemn the gesture.
With both parties gearing up for the midterms and open races for governor and US Senate, Democrats are working to turn the episode into a campaign issue. "Rather than a moment of silence to honor the service members killed this year in combat across the globe," said Jason Heaser, a state House candidate, "they chose a political stunt to honor a man unanimously convicted by a jury of his peers for murder."
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