Sen. Nicole Mitchell pleads not guilty to felony burglary charge
Sen. Nicole Mitchell worked a shift at the Minnesota Senate booth at the Minnesota State Fair on Tuesday, Aug. 27. Photo by Michelle Griffith/Minnesota Reformer.
First-term Sen. Nicole Mitchell, DFL-Woodbury, pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to a first-degree felony charge alleging she broke into her stepmother’s Detroit Lakes home in April.
On Tuesday, Becker County Attorney Brian McDonald and Mitchell’s defense lawyer Bruce Ringstrom Jr. agreed that Mitchell did not steal a laptop she had in her possession when she was arrested. According to a stipulation filed with Becker County District Court, the prosecution and defense agreed that the laptop could not be used as evidence of burglary.
“The state may not argue that the defendant stole the laptop from the residence in question as part of any theory of burglary,” the stipulation reads. The prosecution may still use the laptop or evidence found on the laptop in its case, however.
Mitchell’s next court hearing is scheduled for Friday.
Mitchell has adamantly defended herself and rejected calls from her party to step down after the legislative session ended this year including from Gov. Tim Walz and DFL Party Chair Ken Martin. She has continued to fulfill her Senate duties, even taking a shift at the Senate’s booth at the Minnesota State Fair on Tuesday.
She declined to discuss the charge against her when approached Tuesday by the Reformer at the State Fair, where she was working at the Minnesota Senate booth. When asked what was the status of the case against her, she said that was “public record.” She said “not a single person” had brought up her felony charge at the fair and she said “I’m here trying to do my job.”
Mitchell was arrested at her stepmother’s house by Detroit Lakes officers responding to a burglary call. Officers searched the basement and found Mitchell dressed in black clothing and a black hat. According to the charges, while being arrested Mitchell said something to the effect of “I was just trying to get a couple of my dad’s things because you wouldn’t talk to me anymore.”
Mitchell told a police officer that her father died and her stepmother had stopped all contact with her and other family. Mitchell said “I know I did something bad,” according to the charging document.
Mitchell’s arrest came in the middle of the 2024 legislative session, and Republicans repeatedly tried to prevent her from voting on bills, where she was the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party’s crucial 34th vote in their one-seat majority.
Mitchell refused to resign from her seat, and she was barred from DFL Senate caucus meetings and relieved of her committee assignments. Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy, DFL-St. Paul, has defended Mitchell’s right to due process and not called on her to resign.
