Delegate at Minn. GOP convention calls for moment of silence for Derek Chauvin

OAN Staff Addie Davis
11:50 AM – Tuesday, June 2, 2026

At a recent Minnesota GOP convention, a delegate called for a moment of silence for Derek Chauvin, the former police officer convicted of murdering George Floyd. Floyd’s death sparked a massive nationwide racial justice movement aimed at “combating systemic racism and police brutality,” according to left-wing supporters.

Floyd’s death in 2020 garnered major national and media attention — sparking widespread protests and violent riots. However, Chauvin’s conviction is still a topic of controversy, with many voicing concerns about the fairness of the trial and the specifics of Floyd’s death.

At the Minnesota event, Christopher Rocco, one of more than 2,000 Republican delegates, reportedly called for the moment of silence, which state Representative Danny Nadeau (R-Minn.), the convention chair, put to a vote — with those in favor voicing even louder support, according to the Minnesota Reformer.

“I apologize because I know you asked me not to do this. I’d like to suspend the rules for a moment of reflection for Derek Chauvin,” said Rocco.

 

He also added that Chauvin should get both a retrial and a federal pardon for his civil rights conviction.

Notably, the motion happened just days after the sixth anniversary of Floyd’s death, which Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison later recognized in a statement.

“Honoring the man convicted of murdering George Floyd the week of the anniversary is frankly shocking,” Ellison posted to X on Monday, in response to the delegate’s call. “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 concluded.

 

Chauvin is currently serving a concurrent 22 and a half-year sentence for second-degree murder, as well as, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ), a 21-year federal sentence for “depriving George Floyd Jr. and a then-14-year-old child of their constitutional rights.”

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