A Minnesota state senator was found guilty of burglary on Friday for unlawfully entering her estranged stepmother’s residence. This conviction has prompted calls for her swift resignation due to the critical vote she holds in a narrowly split chamber.
The jury deliberated for approximately three hours before convicting 51-year-old Nicole Mitchell of first-degree burglary and having burglary tools. Initially, after her arrest, she informed the police that her intention was to locate her father’s ashes and other keepsakes. However, she attempted to retract this explanation during her testimony.
Mitchell displayed little emotion as the verdicts were read.
Erin Murphy, the Democratic Senate Majority Leader, promptly released a statement indicating that Mitchell had assured colleagues she would step down if found guilty, adding, “and I expect her to fulfill that commitment.”
Republican Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson reiterated the GOP’s long-standing demand for immediate resignation or face expulsion.
Gov. Tim Walz’s office said he expects her to resign. But one of Mitchell’s attorneys, Dane DeKrey, said in text messages that he didn’t know if she would heed the calls. He said they’re exploring their options for an appeal.
The Democrat from the St. Paul suburb of Woodbury maintained her innocence and refused to resign since her arrest in the early hours of April 22, 2024, at her stepmother’s home in the northwestern Minnesota city of Detroit Lakes.
Mitchell’s father died in 2023 at the age of 72. He had been married to Mitchell’s stepmother, Carol Mitchell, for nearly 40 years.
The jury saw bodycam video of Mitchell telling police repeatedly after her arrest that she broke into the home because her stepmother refused to give her items of sentimental value from her father, including some of his ashes, photos and a flannel shirt.
The first-term senator was dressed in all-black and had a flashlight covered with a black sock when she was arrested. The video showed her telling police, “Clearly, I’m not good at this,” and “I know I did something bad.”
But Mitchell testified Thursday that despite what she told police, she didn’t really intend to take anything. She said she had become increasingly concerned about her stepmother’s worsening memory problems and paranoia, and wanted to check on her well-being. She testified her stepmother was afraid of being put in a nursing home. Mitchell said she thought her stepmom would be less upset to hear she wanted some of her father’s items than to have her competency questioned.
The former broadcast meteorologist and now-retired Air National Guard officer was convicted of one count of first-degree burglary of an occupied dwelling, a felony that carries a mandatory minimum of six months in jail if there’s an intent to steal. She was also convicted on a count of possessing burglary tools, a lesser felony without a mandatory minimum.
The judge did not set a sentencing date.
The prosecutor, Becker County Attorney Brian McDonald urged jurors Friday to focus on “the many lies of Nicole Mitchell” and evaluate her testimony with reason and common sense. And he urged them to review the body camera video showing what she told police after her arrest.
“I submit to you she was telling the truth on April 22nd, 2024. And if you believe that she was telling the truth to the officers, then you know she had the intent to steal. She told you. She told the officers.”
Defense attorney Bruce Ringstrom Jr. told the jury that Mitchell did not steal anything and did not intend to. He conceded that she used poor judgment. He said everybody has told “white lies,” and that Mitchell’s goal was to avoid aggravating her stepmother’s distrust even further.
“We all know the difference between a white lie and a meaningful, damaging one,” Ringstrom said. “The problem is that this happened in the context of something that was a terrible mess, a mess that Nicole made. But it was a mess.”
Under such difficult circumstances, Ringstrom argued, “Nicole’s white lies make perfect sense.”
Mitchell’s rejection of calls for her resignation after her arrest frayed relations between Democrats and Republicans in the narrowly divided state Senate.
Democrats hold only a one-seat majority in the Senate, so they needed her vote. They said she deserved to have the legal process play out.
Republicans periodically tried to kick her out of the chamber but lacked the votes. The Senate can’t vote to expel her until it next convenes, and it’s not due to meet again until February.
If she resigns, the governor would schedule a special election. His office said it would provide more information soon. Mitchell’s district mostly votes Democratic. The Harris-Walz ticket carried it with 61% of the vote last year.
