In a peculiar case that has captured public attention, a Minnesota political hopeful was found guilty of assault after an unusual altercation involving a tarantula. The incident was part of an effort to evict her housemate from the property.

Marisa Simonetti, aged 32, faced a six-member jury and was convicted of misdemeanor assault, harassment, and disorderly conduct, as reported by the Minnesota Star Tribune.

Simonetti had initially welcomed attorney Jacklyn Vasquez into her Edina home, a suburb of Minneapolis, as an Airbnb guest in 2024. However, tensions escalated when Vasquez refused to vacate the premises. According to a civil lawsuit filed last year, the situation grew contentious, with Vasquez allegedly making extortionate threats and involving others in ways that jeopardized Simonetti’s safety, family, and budding political career.

Facing legal challenges, Simonetti chose to represent herself after parting ways with her attorney just weeks before the trial. Following the jury’s decision, she expressed her belief in her innocence to the newspaper, attributing the verdict to her lack of legal expertise. “I was just outplayed,” she remarked. “That’s all.”

Simonetti’s sentencing is scheduled for May 1.

Sentencing is set for May 1.

Simonetti has spoken often with the media about the case. As Law&Crime previously reported, Simonetti made wide-ranging comments to Fox affiliate KMSP and NBC affiliate KARE about what took place which only added another layer of strangeness.

Asked what led to the tarantula incident, Simonetti said that Vasquez “started sending double, triple texting me long paragraphs and making all kinds of accusations saying there was an infestation — a spider infestation — and then she said the internet didn’t work.”

“It was just a bombardment. She was sending me paragraphs-long messages and finally I had to block her because I felt so uncomfortable,” Simonetti said, explaining that her son lives in the home and that this fact makes her highly sensitive to disputes like these.

Claiming that Vasquez was screaming on the phone with someone, threatening to have her arrested, and threatening to ruin her campaign, Simonetti suggested that she tried a tactic from “Home Alone,” her favorite movie from her childhood, to get Vasquez out of the house.

“I mean, there is an element of humor to that movie, and at the end, what was I supposed to do?” she asked KMSP. “And at the end of the day, unhinged got her out of the house.”

Simonetti, who reportedly did not own the home, did not answer whether she was allowed to sublet a room to Vasquez, calling those rules “all pretty hazy,” but she chalked up the whole blow-up as “funny” and “ridiculous.”

“I’m good at creatively solving problems, and at the end of the day, I didn’t physically harm anybody. I’m a little unconventional in my ways—sometimes. I mean, I’m a silly goose,” she told KMSP.

Simonetti is suing the woman who accused her in the incident, along with the police department and its officers who investigated the matter, and the prosecutors who charged her with the crime. She’s asking for $28 million.

According to the suit, Vasquez also bought $350 worth of sex toys at a CVS with Simonetti’s credit card.

“Rather than seeking any legal protection herself, Vasquez, a licensed attorney in the State of Minnesota, weaponized legal language and imagery in her threats to Plaintiff — stating that she would ‘make [Plaintiff] look like an abuser,’ ‘flip this whole thing on [her],’ and ‘go to the media’ with whatever story would cause the most damage if her demands were not met,” the lawsuit said.

As a result, Simonetti said she had Airbnb cancel Vasquez’s booking and called the police to have her removed from the home. Vasquez allegedly “barricaded” herself in the basement and cops did not end up forcing her to leave. It was at this point that the alleged tarantula tossing occurred, and this time Vasquez called the police and Simonetti was arrested.

Vasquez provided the following statement: “Look up the term litigation abuse. That’s all I have to provide at the moment.”

Simonetti, at the time, was a candidate for Hennepin County Commissioner and “an emerging contender for the 2026 U.S. Senate race in Minnesota,” the lawsuit stated. She lost the commissioner race twice.

“Prior to the false arrest and malicious prosecution, Plaintiff’s campaign was on track to surpass her opponent’s fundraising and win the general election. Public interest, donor enthusiasm, and social media engagement were strong and steadily increasing in the weeks leading up to the June 2024 events,” the lawsuit stated. “As a direct result of Vasquez’s threats, the unlawful arrest, and the prosecution initiated by Hennepin County, Plaintiff’s campaign suffered irreparable harm. Key donors rescinded pledges, community events were canceled or disrupted, and Plaintiff was denied valuable earned media and speaking opportunities due to the pending charges.”

The plaintiff claims in the lawsuit, which she filed herself, that her Senate campaign fundraising targets could “easily exceed $22 million.” Simonetti is not considered among the top contenders who have announced their intention to run or are thought to have an interest.

Simonetti claims the Edina cops violated her First Amendment rights by “interfering with her political speech” and lacked probable cause to arrest her. She also says the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office violated her due process rights by pursuing criminal charges “based on demonstrably false information.”