Woodbury DFL Sen. Nicole Mitchell arrested in Detroit Lakes

Alex Derosier, Pioneer Press
Updated ·2 min read
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An east metro state senator was in custody Monday after her arrest in connection to a report of a burglary at a home in Detroit Lakes.

Sen. Nicole Mitchell, a Democratic-Farmer-Labor lawmaker from Woodbury, was booked into the Becker County Jail early Monday morning after her arrest for suspected first-degree burglary, according to Detroit Lakes Police Chief Steve Todd.

At around 4:45 a.m. on Monday, police responded to a 911 call reporting a burglary in the 700 block of Granger Road in Detroit Lakes, Todd said. When officers arrived, they searched the house and found a person inside.

Officers then arrested Mitchell. As of early Monday she had not been formally charged with any offense. The Becker County prosecutor’s office was not immediately available for comment.

Mitchell is a first-term state senator elected in 2022. She’s a meteorologist and lieutenant colonel in the Air National Guard. She represents Senate District 47, which includes Woodbury and southern parts of Maplewood.

DFLers have 34 seats in the Senate, compared to the 33 held by Republicans. If Mitchell can’t return to the Capitol, Democrats may have trouble passing partisan legislation between now and the end of session later next month.

A phone call and email to Mitchell were not immediately returned on Monday. The Senate DFL did not have any immediate response to the arrest, other than to indicate that they knew Mitchell had been arrested.

“The Senate DFL Caucus is aware of the situation and has no comment pending further information,” spokesman Marc Kimball said in a statement.

Republican Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson, R-East Grand Forks issued a statement on the arrest:

“Knowing very few details at this time, I am shocked by the news of Sen. Nicole Mitchell’s arrest for first-degree burglary,” he said. “The public expects Legislators to meet a high standard of conduct. As information comes out, we expect the consequences to meet the actions, both in the court of law, and in her role at the legislature.”

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