The legal team that represented George Floyd's family is demanding a public apology from the Minnesota Republican Party after state delegates paused to honor Derek Chauvin, the former police officer convicted of Floyd's murder, during the party's convention in Duluth over the weekend.
In a statement released Tuesday, attorneys Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci condemned the act, calling it “disgusting” and a violation of both the judicial system and public trust. “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,” they wrote.
The attorneys demanded that the party retract the tribute and issue an apology to Floyd's family and the people of Minnesota. The Hill has reached out to the Minnesota Republican Party for comment.
Floyd, a Black man, was killed on May 25, 2020, after Chauvin, a white officer, knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes during an arrest for allegedly using a counterfeit $20 bill. Floyd's cries of “I can't breathe” were captured on video, sparking global protests against police brutality and becoming a defining moment for the Black Lives Matter movement. Chauvin was convicted of murder in state court and later pleaded guilty to federal civil rights violations.
Audio from the convention, shared by the Minnesota Reformer, reveals that state Representative Christopher Rocco proposed the moment of silence. “I apologize because you've asked me not to do this. I'd like to suspend the rules for a moment of reflection for Derek Chauvin,” Rocco said, adding that he believes Chauvin deserves a retrial and a pardon.
Convention chair and state Representative Danny Nadeau called for a vote, which was met with loud ayes and quieter nays. Nadeau then led delegates in a brief silence for the former officer.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, who prosecuted Chauvin, called the tribute “frankly shocking” in a social media statement Monday. “Chauvin was convicted by a jury of his peers and was affirmed through every appeal. It shows cruelty to the Floyd family and disrespect to our courts and all Minnesotans. No one is above the law,” he said.
State GOP chair Alex Plechash told WCCO radio Monday that the decision came from the convention body, not leadership. “There are a lot of people, I think, that believe that Derek Chauvin was improperly convicted and not treated well and those people wanted to have a moment of silence and recognition because they felt that way,” Plechash said. When pressed on his own view, he declined to comment, saying, “The court system had its verdict, and I'm not going to challenge the court.”
The controversy echoes broader tensions within the party, which has seen internal divisions over issues ranging from election integrity to law enforcement. Meanwhile, in other political developments, Illinois senators are demanding the resignation of an interim U.S. attorney over a botched case, and House Democrats are pushing for subpoenas in the Epstein files probe.
