Minnesota Republicans Honor Convicted Murderer

Servus said:

And yet we should forgive him and pray for him.

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Servus said:

What about praying for them? Because that's often what "a moment of silence" means.

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Yeah, except that wasn’t the point of the prayer. The point of it was exactly whT the rest of us assumed: to express the belief that he was railroaded.

As Christians we should always be open to forgiveness. However this act of offering a "moment of silence" was not about forgiveness. It was about honor. Forgiveness is appropriate when the one needing forgiveness has expressed remorse. During his 2021 sentencing hearing for second-degree murder and his 2022 sentencing for violating Floyd's civil rights, Chauvin made no apologies to the Floyd family. He addressed the family briefly only to wish his own children "all the best" in becoming "good adults". Chauvin continues to maintain his innocence and lack of contrition. No, the only reasonable way to interpret anyone at a political convention calling for a "moment of silence" is to honor that person's life, which in this case is a veiled rejection of the findings of the justice system.

I understand that the call for this "moment of silence" was from one member at the convention and that it occurred before the official start of proceedings. It did not appear to originate from the top leadership of Republican Party, but was allowed at the time. If I were to put myself in the position of the chairman of the proceedings faced with this unexpected public call for 10 seconds of silence, I can see how I might feel more awkward to refuse. I sincerely hope that the majority of those at the convention were not inclined to honor the murderer of George Floyd and were just going along with the very small request because they thought it would be easier that way than having a fight over the issue.

However....(and this is what really gets me)....after Democrat Keith Ellison (Minnesota Attorney General) commented publicly about the inappropriateness of such an honor, Representative Tom Emmer, the highest-ranking Republican in Minnesota who serves as the House Majority Whip in the United States Congress and the third highest-ranking Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives, took to social media to post this:

"It's a sad day in the State of Minnesota when it's so-called 'news' that hundreds of patriotic Minnesotans came together to peacefully and respectfully recognize a member of law enforcement."

I find this more upsetting than the original act at the convention. Tom Emmer was not put on the spot like the chairman of the convention. He did not have to post anything, posting on his own initiative. And he is not just some random delegate to a convention. As noted above, he is the highest-ranking Republican in Minnesota. He chose to dishonor the victim of a murder by honoring his killer.

Servus said:

What about praying for them? Because that's often what "a moment of silence" means.

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Isn't that, a moment of silence, usually given to the dead rather than the imprisoned?

LeafByNiggle said:

"It's a sad day in the State of Minnesota when it's so-called 'news' that hundreds of patriotic Minnesotans came together to peacefully and respectfully recognize a member of law enforcement."

I find this more upsetting than the original act at the convention. Tom Emmer was not put on the spot like the chairman of the convention. He did not have to post anything, posting on his own initiative. And he is not just some random delegate to a convention. As noted above, he is the highest-ranking Republican in Minnesota. He chose to dishonor the victim of a murder by honoring his killer.

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He also chose to tell at best a half truth as the person being honored isn’t a member of law enforcement any longer.

iluvatar5150 said:

Yeah, except that wasn’t the point of the prayer. The point of it was exactly whT the rest of us assumed: to express the belief that he was railroaded.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/01/us/republicans-minnesota-derek-chauvin-george-floyd.html

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Ah so they weren't honoring him as a murderer, but expressing support and or grief or something along those lines, over him being railroaded. Purely anecdotal but I was totally convinced that Chauvin had committed cold blooded murder. But after reviewing the whole situation I changed my opinion to manslaughter. I'm sure every juror knew if Chauvin wasn't hit hard it would be worse than the Rodney King riots, since it had already reached that level.

DaisyDay said:

Isn't that, a moment of silence, usually given to the dead rather than the imprisoned?

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It can be given to someone who's imprisoned or ill or some other serious issue. Moments of silence are also given to troops in war zones. There's probably more examples.

Servus said:

Ah so they weren't honoring him as a murderer, but expressing support and or grief or something along those lines, over him being railroaded. Purely anecdotal but I was totally convinced that Chauvin had committed cold blooded murder. But after reviewing the whole situation I changed my opinion to involuntary manslaughter.

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Then it would seem that you and left-wing icon, MN AG Keith Ellison, would agree:



The federal case was not for murder, but for violation of civil rights of both Floyd and a 14yo boy in a separate case:


Chauvin pled guilty to the federal charges.

Here's what the sponsor of the moment of silence wants:

iluvatar5150 said:

Then it would seem that you and left-wing icon, MN AG Keith Ellison, would agree:

Derek Chauvin - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Chauvin was arrested on May 29, 2020. Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman charged him with third-degree murder, and the lesser included offense of second-degree manslaughter, making him the first White police officer in Minnesota to be charged in the death of a Black civilian. Under Minnesota law, third-degree murder is defined as causing another's death without intent to kill, but "evincing a depraved mind, without regard for human life". Second-degree manslaughter also does not imply lethal intent, but that the perpetrator created "an unreasonable risk" of serious harm or death.​

​

On May 31, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison took over the case at the request of Governor Tim Walz. On June 3, Ellison amended the charges against Chauvin to include unintentional second-degree murder under the felony murder doctrine, alleging that Chauvin killed Floyd in the course of committing assault in the third degree;​

On April 20, 2021, a jury, consisting of six White people and six people of color, found Chauvin guilty on three counts: unintentional second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter.​

The federal case was not for murder, but for violation of civil rights of both Floyd and a 14yo boy in a separate case:

The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) convened a grand jury in February 2021 to investigate whether Chauvin violated Floyd's civil rights as well as another incident in September 2017 when Chauvin restrained a 14-year-old boy for several minutes, using his knee to lean into the boy's back and hitting him with a flashlight several times. During the restraint, Chauvin ignored the boy's pleas that he could not breathe and the boy briefly lost consciousness. The 2017 incident was deemed inadmissible as evidence in Chauvin's murder trial. Following Chauvin's murder conviction, the investigation was still underway, with the DOJ reportedly weighing whether to bring criminal charges against Chauvin for the 2017 incident.​

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Federal investigators planned to charge Chauvin and the other three officers for federal civil rights violations, and intended to ask the grand jury to indict him for both the 2017 and 2020 incidents. On May 7, 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice indicted Chauvin, alongside his three co-officers, for constitutional civil rights violations for their involvement in the murder of George Floyd. These indictments caused the state court trial for the three other officers to be pushed back to start on March 7, 2022, from August 23, 2021. Chauvin, also on May 7, 2021, was indicted by the same grand jury for violating the civil rights of the 14-year-old boy he arrested in the aforementioned September 2017 incident. The federal charges were to be prosecuted by Justice Department attorneys in Minnesota and Washington, D.C. On September 16, 2021, Chauvin pleaded not guilty to the charges related to the 2017 incident indictment.​

Chauvin pled guilty to the federal charges.

Here's what the sponsor of the moment of silence wants:

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.”​

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Okay so Christopher Rocco is a ding dong.

Pommer said:

To be fair, this was at the Party’s Annual (state) convention. Odd occurrences often happen at conventions and which is why they’re so fun to hold!


I, personally have zero problem with the Minnesota State Republican convention holding an (unofficial, as stated in the OP’s article) “moment of silence” for a man who is not going to see the sun for a very long time*. It’s sad that Officer Chauvin thought that needlessly causing the death of a fellow human being would not meet with consequences. That’s worth ten-seconds any day.


*metaphorically

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It is useful when they reveal themselves. Minn GOP -- you are known.

Servus said:

And yet we should forgive him and pray for him.

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Why?
There are 8 billion people on this planet. Why did they chose exactly that guy?
They could have prayed for the wellbeing of Pam Bondi, who is diagnosed with cancer. They could have prayed for the safety and health of Trump.
They could have prayed for the thousands Iranians murdered by the islamic regime in January or the victims of the Hamas terror attack. They could have prayed for you or for me.
But they chose Derek Chauvin, a convicted murderer and someone who through his actions created one of the biggest riots of recent history. They had to stir that stinking pot.
So, tell me why?

Perpetual Student said:

Why?
There are 8 billion people on this planet. Why did they chose exactly that guy?
They could have prayed for the wellbeing of Pam Bondi, who is diagnosed with cancer. They could have prayed for the safety and health of Trump.
They could have prayed for the thousands Iranians murdered by the islamic regime in January or the victims of the Hamas terror attack. They could have prayed for you or for me.
But they chose Derek Chauvin, a convicted murderer and someone who through his actions created one of the biggest riots of recent history. They had to stir that stinking pot.
So, tell me why?

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I think you have me confused with the guy who proposed it. I believe he made a statement about it. So look that up to find out why.

Servus said:

I think you have me confused with the guy who proposed it. I believe he made a statement about it. So look that up to find out why.

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Yet, you wrote that we should pray for him (Derek Chauvin) and forgive him

Why?
There are 8 billion people on this planet. Why did you chose exactly that guy?
you could have invite us to pray for the wellbeing of Pam Bondi, who is diagnosed with cancer. you could have urge us to pray for the safety and health of Trump.
You could have invited us to pray for the thousands Iranians murdered by the islamic regime in January or the victims of the Hamas terror attack. You could have invited us to pray for you or for me.
But you chose Derek Chauvin, a convicted murderer and someone who through his actions created one of the biggest riots of recent history. You had to stir that stinking pot (too).
So, tell me why?

Perpetual Student said:

Yet, you wrote that we should pray for him (Derek Chauvin) and forgive him

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No. I said to another Christian that we as Christians should forgive and pray for him. Why did I single him out? Because he's the topic of this thread. Why should us followers of Christ forgive, pray for, love, and even die for bad people? Because that's what Christ did.

Servus said:

No. I said to another Christian that we as Christians should forgive and pray for him. Why did I single him out? Because he's the topic of this thread. Why should us followers of Christ forgive, pray for, love, and even die for bad people? Because that's what Christ did.

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What is it that you (and your fellow Christians) would be forgiving Mister Chauvin for?

Pommer said:

What is it that you (and your fellow Christians) would be forgiving Mister Chauvin for?

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That time he killed them.

Pommer said:

What is it that you (and your fellow Christians) would be forgiving Mister Chauvin for?

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The same things as everyone else. Anything they've done that's been offensive or hurtful to us.

Servus said:

The same things as everyone else. Anything they've done that's been offensive or hurtful to us.

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Uh huh. I see. Well then, have a great evening.

Any Minnesotans on here that can bring the rest of us up to speed?

Is this purely a "stick it to the Dems" thing they're doing?... or does this have to do with the more recent chatter that's been going around on social media suggesting that Floyd's death was attributable to the drugs in his system and not Chauvin's actions, but that Chauvin was basically the guy who had to get fed to the lions to appease the angry mob?

ThatRobGuy said:

Any Minnesotans on here that can bring the rest of us up to speed?

Is this purely a "stick it to the Dems" thing they're doing?... or does this have to do with the more recent chatter that's been going around on social media suggesting that Floyd's death was attributable to the drugs in his system and not Chauvin's actions, but that Chauvin was basically the guy who had to get fed to the lions to appease the angry mob?

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I’m taking it at face-value, someone was so upset over Derek Chauvin’s incarceration that they asked for an unofficial moment of silence for him. He got that recognition of his concern and that’s the end of it.
Unless we decide to wrangle over it.
I’m opting out.