GOP chair refuses three times to say if he supports moment of silence for murderer

Minnesota Republican Party Chair Alex Plechash refused Monday to say whether he supported a moment of silence for convicted murderer Derek Chauvin held at the GOP's state convention over the weekend — stonewalling a radio interviewer who pressed him three times and never got a straight answer.

When WCCO's Vineeta Sawkar asked Plechash point-blank if he agreed with delegates who believe Chauvin was wrongly convicted, he dodged. "I don't think I'm going to comment on that," he told her. "The court system had its verdict, and I'm not going to challenge the court."

Sawkar pressed harder: "Did you like the fact that a convicted murderer had a moment of silence at your convention?"

"I don't think I should comment on that," Plechash replied again.

When she asked why not, he finally explained his silence: "It indicates whether I do or don't agree with something that came out of the court. So I think I'll just let that pass."

Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer who knelt on George Floyd's neck for nearly 10 minutes during a 2020 arrest, was convicted in 2021 on three counts, including second-degree murder. He is currently serving a 22 1/2-year federal prison sentence, with no release until 2037.

The tribute came Saturday morning at the opening of the Minnesota Republican State Convention in Duluth, just days after the sixth anniversary of Floyd's death—when a delegate called for a moment of silence, which passed on a voice vote. Convention chair state Rep. Danny Nadeau led the roughly 10-second observance after saying he recommended against it but could not unilaterally block it.

Plechash defended the tribute as coming from the delegate body rather than party leadership. "There are a lot of people, I think, that believe that Derek Chauvin was improperly convicted and not treated well," he told WCCO. "And those people wanted to have a moment of silence and recognition because they felt that way."

The blowback was swift. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, who led the prosecution of Chauvin, called it "an act of profound cruelty to the Floyd family." In a statement, Ellison added: "The jury heard all the evidence. The appeals courts reviewed every claim. Justice was rendered according to our system of law."

State Rep. Jamie Long (D-Minneapolis) posted on X: "Not for those we lost to gun violence. Not for soldiers killed overseas. To a literal convicted murderer. Disgusting."

Former Michigan Republican Party executive director and Lincoln Project senior advisor Jeff Timmer was equally blunt: "On brand for today's Republican Party: Racists who despise the rule of law."