The GOP Keeps Celebrating Murderers

On Saturday, May 31, the Minnesota State GOP gathered in Duluth for its nominating convention. Then, well:

A delegate then called for a moment of silence for Derek Chauvin, who was convicted of murdering George Floyd in 2020 and is in prison. State Rep. Danny Nadeau, R-Rogers, led a 10-second moment of silence after taking an informal vote.

Monday was the sixth anniversary of Floyd’s death.

There is no reason for anyone, at all, to celebrate Derek Chauvin. He was an armed agent of the government who murdered a civilian, was found guilty of murder by a jury of his peers, and had appeals to both the Minnesota and United States Supreme Courts denied. The justice system spoke unquestionably. It's also worth noting that the nation spoke unquestionably, too. 85% of Americans thought Chauvin's actions were unjustified. The Minnesota GOP so brazenly and childishly disrespecting the American people as well as every level of the American justice system - for a convicted murderer - is as enraging as it is unsurprising.

The GOP has, at every level, stoked and inflamed culture war tensions in pursuit of continued power. And in doing so, they perpetuate political violence as much as they celebrate it. And they do celebrate it. Kyle Rittenhouse and Daniel Penny were conservative celebrities within days of killing people. They weren't convicted of murder, but the GOP's behavior in each case was damning nonetheless.

Kyle Rittenhouse & Daniel Penny

Kyle Rittenhouse took a shit all over any semblance of responsible gun ownership guidelines and traveled to a protest with a loaded gun to protect the people against all of the exaggerated rioting he saw on conservative media. People saw his gun when he was trolling them, they surrounded him to get him to disarm himself, he felt afraid for his life, and he killed two people. Had he not been there, nobody would have died. Had he not, openly and admittedly, used his gun as a prop to incite the crowd, nobody would have died. He was acquitted.

Daniel Penny was riding the subway in New York City in May 2023 when a homeless black man, 30 year old Jordan Neely, began to act erratically. He was shouting threats at people, and while some witnesses said he clearly wasn't going to do anything to anyone, some witnesses were afraid. Penny, a 24-year-old Marine veteran, approached Neely from behind and put him into a chokehold. He held him there for several minutes until he died. He was charged with manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide. The jury deadlocked on the former and acquited on the latter, so manslaughter was dismissed. Penny was free.

Both men were hosted by President Trump at Mar-a-Lago, celebrated by multiple congressmen, featured on spotlight segments on Fox News, and spoke at Turning Point USA's AmericaFest in 2021, where they were both hailed as heroes by Charlie Kirk himself.

Why it matters

We cannot have a political institution that foments violence.

Ultimately, the GOP’s behavior when it comes to communicating about political violence is self-incriminating. They do not care about America. This is something that the press, or leaders in Democratic messaging, need to wrap their heads around, sooner than later. When they lie about Democratic protests and convince their base that half of the nation and all of the cities are hateful antisemitic death traps, they are fomenting mistrust, fear, and violence. When they respond to political criticism with accusations of political violence, they, again, are creating an environment of fear and mistrust.

It’s demonstrated each and every time there’s an opportunity to present something as a terror attack by Democrats. Pundits, elected leaders, even the President of the United States will tell the nation that Democrats are out for blood within the hour. This is not the behavior of anyone who is interested in leading. This is not the behavior of an institutional apparatus interested in keeping Americans safe. It is plainly self-interested, and they will keep doing it if we keep holding back any accountability.

And what's the end state here if the GOP is to continue on this path? What does America look like without any of the judges that are holding back the administration's abject cruelty? A government that refuses to hold itself, or certain civilians, responsible for violence is a government that is as evil as any we've studied in the history books. And it's the US government of 2026.

Picture credit:

• Cover: Glenn Stubbe/Minnesota Reformer
• Rittenhouse & lawyer - Pool/ABC News