Minnesota’s Republican Party drew sharp condemnation after holding a moment of silence for Derek Chauvin at its annual convention in Duluth—an act the state’s attorney general called profound cruelty to George Floyd’s family and disrespect to Minnesota law enf
A moment of silence stretched across the opening of a two-day convention in Duluth—and within days, it had already set off a fight about memory, accountability, and who Minnesota chooses to honor.
Minnesota Republicans’ annual gathering included a gesture that recognized Derek Chauvin. the former Minneapolis police officer convicted of murdering George Floyd. State Attorney General Keith Ellison. a Democrat and the lead prosecutor in the case. reacted with anger on Saturday. calling the decision “an act of profound cruelty” to Floyd’s family and “disrespectful” to Minnesota’s law enforcement personnel.
Ellison said the gesture dishonors Floyd’s memory and “wounds his loved ones all over again.” He also linked the timing to the fact that Chauvin was being recognized almost exactly six years after the murder of George Floyd. noting that it came days after the anniversary of that “terrible day.” “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 said.
He later added: “To honor a man who disgraced his oath to uphold the law and his badge is disturbing. And to honor a man who damaged the reputation of the brave men and women who protect our communities night and day is disrespectful.”
At the convention, the pause reportedly lasted about 10 seconds before the start of official business on the second morning. The Minnesota Republican Party granted the request of a delegate to recognize Chauvin, according to a local report from Fox 9 News.
Chauvin was sentenced to a 22-and-a-half-year prison term in 2021 for second-degree murder of Floyd in Minneapolis on 25 May 2020. In 2022, he received a separate concurrent 21-year sentence for violating Floyd’s civil rights during the encounter. During that encounter, Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes.
His legal path has run out in Minnesota and at the federal level. Ellison pointed to the U.S. Supreme Court’s refusal of an appeal against Chauvin’s conviction in 2023. State courts have also repeatedly declined to grant him a new trial.
After surviving a stabbing in prison in Arizona nine months earlier, Chauvin was moved to a low-security facility in Texas in August 2024.
The violence that followed Floyd’s death—when Floyd, a Black man, died after Chauvin, a white officer, held him down—sparked violent protests in Minneapolis and helped fuel a broader reckoning tied to Black Lives Matter and debates over police brutality and racial injustice.
In recent years, however, Chauvin has also become a cause celebre for political rightwingers and conservative influencers, including Ben Shapiro, who has asserted that Floyd was not suffocated but died of a pre-existing medical condition.
Calls for President Donald Trump to pardon Chauvin were amplified by Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and ally of the U.S. president. Analysts say such a move would not secure Chauvin’s release from prison but would instead transfer him to a state facility.
In his statement, Ellison returned to what he called permanent loss. “George Floyd’s children lost their father,” Ellison wrote. “His siblings lost their brother. His community lost a neighbor and friend. That loss is permanent and irreparable. The jury heard all the evidence. The appeals courts reviewed every claim. Justice was rendered according to our system of law.”.
As the lead prosecutor whose team presented the case to a jury of 12 Minnesotans and prevailed at every step of the appeals process. Ellison said he was “deeply troubled” by what the moment of silence says about the state of Minnesota’s politics. He ended by apologizing to the Floyd family and to “all the dedicated officers who do their jobs honorably every day.”.
The Minnesota Republican Party did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The backlash wasn’t limited to the attorney general. Jamie Long. a Democratic state lawmaker and former majority leader of the Minnesota legislature. called the act “disgusting” in a post on X on Sunday. Long wrote that Republicans “opened their convention with a moment of silence for Derek Chauvin. Not for those we lost to gun violence. Not for soldiers killed overseas.” He added: “To a literal convicted murderer. Disgusting.”.
For Floyd’s family, and for those who lived through the protests that followed his death, the silence wasn’t just ceremonial. It landed like a question—about whether punishment, after verdicts and appeals, is still treated as something Minnesota intends to honor.
Minnesota Republicans Derek Chauvin George Floyd Keith Ellison moment of silence Duluth convention Minnesota law enforcement Black Lives Matter Minneapolis protests Chauvin appeal Trump pardon