DETROIT LAKES, MINN. – Following three days of emotional testimony, jurors found state Sen. Nicole Mitchell guilty Friday of first-degree burglary and felony possession of burglary tools in connection with the break-in at her stepmother’s home last spring.
Mitchell showed no outward emotion as Chief Judge Michael Fritz read the guilty verdicts. She sat with her hands in her lap and glanced over at the jury, which had deliberated for three hours.
She will not be automatically expelled from the Minnesota Senate due to the conviction, but her Senate colleagues could vote to remove her from the chamber when the Legislature is in session if she doesn’t resign on her own accord.
Ahead of the verdict, Mitchell, a Democrat, had told colleagues she intended to resign if found guilty, said Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy, DFL-St. Paul, in a statement. “I expect her to follow through on that pledge,” Murphy said.
DFL Gov. Tim Walz also expected Mitchell to resign after she was found guilty, according to the governor’s office, and he’s expected to call a special election if the seat becomes vacant.
If Mitchell does leave office, the Minnesota Senate will be deadlocked 33-33 pending that special election. The southwest metro district she represents has leaned solidly Democrat in recent elections, with Mitchell winning almost 59% of the vote in 2022.
While Mitchell awaits sentencing, prosecutors wanted her handcuffed and jailed, but defense attorneys argued she was a public figure who posed no flight risk or threat to public safety. Fritz agreed and Mitchell slipped out a back door of the courtroom to avoid reporters.
Her stepmother, Carol Mitchell, hugged Becker County Attorney Brian McDonald, who told her that he hoped she could “sleep OK tonight.” The 75-year-old woman declined comment, but her son Jonathan Kuehl said “it’s a wonderful day.”
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