Minnesota GOP Moment of Silence for Derek Chauvin Sparks Immediate Backlash

In a move that’s already drawn sharp condemnation from state officials, the Minnesota GOP held a moment of silence for Derek Chauvin during its state convention on Saturday morning—just days after the sixth anniversary of George Floyd’s death on May 25.

The 10-second tribute to Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer convicted of murdering Floyd, has ignited a firestorm. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison responded swiftly, saying he was“heartbroken and frankly shocked”that Republicans would honor Chauvin, adding that“Minnesota’s families—all of them—deserve better.”Rep. Jamie Long called the gesture“disgusting.”

For context: Chauvin was convicted in 2021 after video evidence showed him kneeling on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes during a 2020 arrest. That footage became a flashpoint for nationwide protests, galvanizing the push for police reform and forcing a reckoning with racial justice in law enforcement. Today, Chauvin is serving concurrent federal and state prison sentences with a scheduled release date of 2037.

Despite multiple appeals, Chauvin’s legal efforts have largely stalled. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear his challenge to his state conviction in 2023, and he continues fighting his federal conviction—so far without success.

What makes the timing particularly striking is how close it falls to Floyd’s death anniversary. Whether the moment was intentional provocation or a tone-deaf lapse in judgment, the message it sends is unmistakable: there’s still a profound political and moral divide over how Floyd’s death and Chauvin’s conviction are understood in Minnesota. For many, the gesture read as less a show of support for the rule of law and more a statement about whose side you’re on in a broader culture war—one that, in this case, chose to memorialize a man convicted of murder over the victim whose death changed a nation.