Local Senator Joins Calls for Nicole Mitchell to Resign Following her Felony Conviction

(KNSI) — Following the conviction of state Senator Nicole Mitchell on felony burglary charges Friday, Senator Aric Putnam (DFL-St. Cloud) is joining calls for Mitchell to follow through on her promise to resign from the Minnesota Senate.

“Senator Mitchell repeatedly asked for due process and the opportunity to defend herself in court. She received that through a trial before a jury of her peers, and that jury has now delivered its verdict,” Putnam said in a statement released after the verdict. “Minnesotans deserve accountability from their elected officials. It is time to move forward and return our full focus to the work we were elected to do.”

Mitchell, a first-term Democrat from Woodbury, was found guilty of first-degree burglary charges and possession of burglary tools for breaking into her estranged stepmother’s Detroit Lakes home in April 2024.

Throughout the legal proceedings, the 51-year-old told her Senate colleagues she would resign if convicted. Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy quickly issued a statement Friday saying she expects Mitchell to follow through on that pledge.

Body camera footage showed Mitchell telling police she broke into the home seeking her late father’s ashes and other sentimental items that her stepmother had refused to give her. Mitchell’s father died in 2023 at age 72 after nearly 40 years of marriage to Carol Mitchell, Nicole’s stepmother. At trial, Mitchell maintained her innocence, claiming she went to the home only to check on Carol, who has Alzheimer’s disease. She testified that she had initially lied to police about her motivations to avoid further upsetting Carol by questioning her competency. However, prosecutors urged the jury to focus on Mitchell’s statements to police immediately after her arrest, when she repeatedly said she was there to retrieve her father’s belongings.

Mitchell’s legal troubles have created tension in Minnesota’s narrowly divided state Senate, where Democrats hold only a one-seat majority. Her potential resignation would trigger a special election in her Woodbury-area district, potentially changing the balance of power.

Throughout the legal process, Democrats declined to expel Mitchell or ask her to step down, saying she deserved due process. However, they excluded her from caucus meetings and removed her from committee assignments. Republicans repeatedly attempted to force her removal but lacked the votes.

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