DFL Sen. Nicole Mitchell announced Monday she will step down from her seat in the Minnesota Legislature. The first-term senator was convicted on two felony charges last week after she broke into her stepmother’s Detroit Lakes home back in April 2024.
RELATED: Sen. Nicole Mitchell found guilty on both counts in her burglary trial
In a statement released through her attorney, Bruce Ringstrom Jr., Mitchell said she will resign “no later than” Aug. 4. Until then, she said she will work on wrapping up outstanding legislative duties and help her staff find new employment.
“It was the honor of her lifetime to serve her District and the State of Minnesota,” her attorney said.
On Friday, a jury found Mitchell guilty on counts of first-degree burglary and possession of burglary tools at the conclusion of a week-long trial.
After Mitchell’s arrest on April 22, 2024, she faced immediate pressure from Republicans to resign from the Senate. Two Republican efforts to expel her from the chamber were unsuccessful.
Some of Mitchell’s Democratic colleagues, including Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy, refrained from calling for her ouster and insisted that Mitchell be afforded due process in court. Shortly after Mitchell’s conviction at trial, though, Murphy called on Mitchell to resign.
Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson, R-East Grand Forks, wasn’t satisfied with Mitchell giving her “two weeks’ notice.”
“Senator Mitchell was convicted of two felonies; she doesn’t get to give the Senate two weeks’ notice,” Johnson said in a statement. “Democrats shielded Mitchell for 15 months to protect their political power, but a jury needed just three hours to confirm what was already clear: she shouldn’t be a senator. Not after April 22, 2024. Not in January of 2025. And not today.”
Johnson took more shots at Democrats, saying they “needed” Mitchell to retain their one-seat Senate majority and “refused to hold her accountable during session.”
When Mitchell asked in January to have her criminal trial postponed until after the 2025 legislative session, Murphy said it “is her right” to do so and voiced concern about Republicans using the pending court case as political ammunition.
Source link
