ST. PAUL, Minn. — The top DFL party official called Thursday for the resignation of besieged the Minnesota state senator. Nicole Mitchell10 after the end of the legislative session in which Mitchell played a vital role in the chamber in moving bills forward.
Mitchell, 49, DFL-Woodbury, was Arrested last month and accused of burglarizing her mother-in-law’s home in Detroit Lakes.
In a statement Thursday morning, DFL Chairman Ken Martin said she should resign from her position. The party will hold its state convention in Duluth this weekend.
“The Minnesota DFL believes that all elected officials should be held accountable, including members of our own party,” he said. “While Senator Mitchell is entitled to her day in court, she has continued to refuse to take responsibility for her actions, which is within her duties and has become a distraction to her district and the Legislature.”
“Now that her constituents have been fully represented through the end of the legislative session, it is time for her to resign to focus on the personal and legal challenges she faces,” he continued.
Through a spokesperson, Gov. Tim Walz agreed with Martin, whose statement followed repeated demands from Senate Republicans for Mitchell to resign after the charges were filed. The allegations against her loomed large in the legislature, and in the first days after her arrest, left the room at a standstill.
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Mitchell was removed from committee assignments and caucus meetingsbut remained the key vote for The Democrats will adopt their program with their majority of one seat, Including many last minute end of session bills.
DFL Senator. Majority Leader Erin Murphy told reporters Thursday that her resignation was just Mitchell’s decision, but the chamber’s top Democrat is encouraging her to consider the possibility.
“If I were in her place, given what we are facing and the need for our ability to continue to govern for the people of Minnesota, I would step aside and hope that by continuing to speak with her , she will come to that conclusion,” Murphy said.
When asked what had changed in her thinking from the session to now, she reiterated that Michell was entitled to due process and that her constituents “are entitled to her voice and her representation” during the session.
Mitchell’s attorney, Bruce Ringstrom Jr., reiterated Thursday morning that she intends to keep her Senate seat.
“Senator Mitchell has heard from many members of her community who support her work and believe in her right to due process under the law,” Ringstrom said. “Therefore, until her criminal case is fully and finally adjudicated, Senator Mitchell will continue to serve her constituents as the duly elected State Senator from District 47.”
Republicans filed an ethics complaintbut the panel Moved to delay actionUntil his next court appearance on June 10. He also sought to expel him from the room.
Republican Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson criticized Democrats in a statement Thursday for their “brazen pursuit of political power,” citing the timing of Martin’s public support for his resignation.
“Without new evidence or information in the charges against Senator Mitchell, this statement from DFL Chairman Ken Martin is a clear admission that Democrats were so desperate to pass their highly partisan agenda that they were willing to use votes of a suspected burglar to do so. “Johnson, the minority leader, said in part.
The charges against Mitchell
Mitchell was arrested early in the morning of April 22 after her mother-in-law called 911 to report a burglary in progress.
According to the criminal complaint, Detroit Lakes police found Mitchell in the basement wearing black clothing and a black hat. She allegedly had a flashlight with a sock on it and a black backpack containing two laptops, one of which belonged to her mother-in-law.
Mitchell told police she entered the home to obtain “photos, a flannel shirt, ashes and other items of sentimental value,” according to the charges. She faces one count of first-degree burglary.
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“Obviously I’m not good at this,” she said, according to investigators, adding, “I know I did something wrong.”
Mitchell, according to the police account outlined in the charges, told her stepmother during the arrest that she was “just trying to get some of my dad’s stuff because you didn’t want to talk to me anymore.”
The day after the arrest, Mitchell denied any theft on Facebook, saying she was only watching a relative suffering from “Alzheimer’s disease and related paranoia.”
Ringstrom, Mitchell’s attorney, asked the judge Wednesday to postpone the hearing until July 1, citing a conflict with another case.
State attorneys, he wrote, had no objection. The judge did not respond to the request.
Mitchell, who also served as a television meteorologist and commander of the Air National Guard, was elected in 2022 and is serving her first term.