Delegates to the Minnesota Republican Party’s convention held a moment of silence over the weekend for Derek Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer, six years after he murdered George Floyd and touched off a national reckoning over policing and race.
The decision brought searing criticism from Democrats, who accused the Republicans of disrespecting the courts and Mr. Floyd’s memory. In recent years, some conservatives have sought to reshape the narrative around Mr. Floyd’s killing and have pushed President Trump to pardon Mr. Chauvin for his federal conviction.
Christopher Rocco, a delegate from St. Paul who goes by the name Rocco, proposed the moment of silence on Saturday morning, describing Mr. Chauvin to his fellow delegates as someone “who should get a state retrial, who should get a federal pardon.” Audio of the exchange was recorded by The Minnesota Reformer, a local news outlet.
When a voice vote was held on a motion for a moment of silence or prayer, many people in the room could be heard yelling aye. The nays were far quieter.
“It wasn’t even close,” said State Representative Danny Nadeau, who presided over that portion of the convention, where about 2,300 delegates gathered in Duluth to make endorsements in state elections.
Mr. Rocco said he had decided to seek recognition of Mr. Chauvin after coming to the conclusion that the former officer had not received a fair trial in state court.
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