In news shocking even for them, lawmakers in the deep blue state of Minnesota have scrambled to protect State Sen. Nicole Mitchell (D-MN), who was charged with burglary after she allegedly broke into her stepmother’s home in April of 2024, and then in mid-February of 2025 faced a new charge related to the incident.
As background, the allegedly criminal state senator was first charged with one count of first-degree burglary in connection to her arrest on April 22 last year in Detroit Lakes, then more recently was hit with a charge of possessing burglary or theft tools, which stems from her alleged use of a crowbar when breaking into the house.
According to the criminal complaint against Mitchell, her stepmother reported an intruder in her basement in the early hours of the morning. That, in turn, led to the local police department dispatching officers to the residence, leading to them arriving at the home and discovering state Sen. Mitchell dressed in all black. Sen. Mitchell, upon being arrested, allegedly told the officers, “Clearly I’m not good at this.”
Those criminal charges led, in turn, to Republicans in the Minnesota State Senate introducing a motion to expel state Sen. Nicole Mitchell over her situation. Instead of agreeing that the state senator, who is facing a felony first-degree burglary charge, shouldn’t be included in the supposedly august legislative body, the Democrats scrambled to defend her.
They did so by rejecting the motion to expel her from the senate over the criminal charges she faces, and clutching their pearls while they did so. This was a repeat of the state Republican senators introducing the motion during the 2024 legislative session; it was shot down by the Democrats then as well.
Republicans responded with fury after the state Senate Democrats rejection the motion. Doing so, Republican Minnesota State Senator Rich Draheim said, “The Senate’s integrity was on the line today, and Democrats failed the test. Sen. Mitchell admitted she ‘did something wrong’ and is facing a felony burglary charge, yet Democrats voted to protect her instead of the institution. Minnesotans deserve better. Senators must be held to the highest possible ethical standards.”
Continuing, he noted, “Last year, Senator Mitchell and her Democrat colleagues used her upcoming trial as an excuse to delay action, including on an ethics violation. Now she is using the legislative session as an excuse to delay her trial. She continues to hide from justice. It is a complete double standard – no other regular citizen would be afforded the privilege that she is hiding behind.”
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He further added that they had scrambled to show their partisan loyalty over any concern with justice, saying, “Today we had an opportunity to restore trust in the Senate, but Democrats chose partisan loyalty over accountability.” Additionally, Draheim called for the release of body camera footage within fourteen days of the arrest of a public figure, saying, “When public officials are the subject of these felony cases, like Sen. Mitchell is, their constituents deserve full transparency. A fast and easy way for them to understand the whole story is to release the body camera footage as quickly as possible.”
Senator Carla Nelson (R-Rochester) and her Republican colleagues also offered a motion to expel Sen. Mitchell during the 2024 legislative session, but it failed when every Democrat voted to rule it out of order.
Also chiming in was state Senator Carla Nelson, a Republican, who declared that justice was not being served because of the obstinancy of the state Democrats. She said, “Justice delayed is justice denied. Today, the Senate had an opportunity to act in the interest of fairness and accountability. Unfortunately, that opportunity was blocked.”
She added, commenting on the victim left unserved by their refusal to expel the allegedly criminal state senator, “A victim of a serious crime is, again, left waiting for closure. Senator Mitchell’s constituents are, again, left waiting for the answers they deserve. Meanwhile Senator Mitchell continues to cast votes and participate in Senate proceedings while facing a felony burglary charge. The victim, Senator Mitchell’s constituents, and Minnesotans deserve a speedy conclusion to this case. Justice requires action, not excuses.”
Watch Sen. Nicole Mitchell appear in court below:
Featured image credit: By Office of Governor Tim Walz & Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan – Gov-signing-selects-007, PDM-owner, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=132396469