Minnesota state senator and Air Force vet Nicole Mitchell facing burglary ... trends now
The Minnesota state senator and Air Force vet facing burglary charges has been stripped of committee assignments.
On Sunday morning, Minnesota Sen. Majority Leader Erin Murphy announced Nicole Mitchell, 49, 'will be relieved of her committee assignments and removed from caucus meetings.'
Mitchell, who also worked as a meteorologist , allegedly broke into her stepmother's home on April 22 in an attempt to retrieve her late father's possessions.
She was charged with one count of first-degree burglary, a felony, and was released on the condition that she does not contact her stepmother. Mitchell has denied she broke into the home and resisted calls for her resignation.
Murphy called Mitchell's situation 'tragic' and revealed the case has been referred to the Senate's Subcommittee on Ethical Conduct.
Minnesota state senator, Nicole Mitchell, 49, was stripped of of committee assignments on Sunday morning after being charged with one count of first-degree burglary, a felony
Minnesota Sen. Majority Leader Erin Murphy called Mitchell's situation 'tragic' and revealed that the case has been referred to the Senate Subcommittee on Ethical Conduct
Mitchell, a veteran of both the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan , allegedly broke into her stepmother's home on April 22 in an attempt to retrieve her late father's possessions
The day after the alleged burglary, state lawmakers called for Mitchell to resign, but the embattled state senator has resisted.
'This behavior is unbecoming of a member of the Legislature and she needs to resign from the Senate immediately,' Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson said in a statement on Tuesday.
Mitchel, who was also a former radio and TV meteorologist, has denied the charges and said that at the time of the alleged incident, she was trying to retrieve some items that belonged to her late father, Rod, who passed away in March 2023.
The suspect went on to accuse her stepmother of no longer speaking with her about her father's possessions. In a statement, Mitchell said that her stepmother is suffering with Alzheimer's disease.
On Wednesday, a judge slapped Mitchell with a restraining order as she appeared in court over Zoom.
Police said that Mitchell admitted to leaving her home in Woodbury at 1am as she planned to drive to Detroit Lakes, where her late father lived with her stepmother.
She told authorities that she went there to retrieve a flannel shirt, ashes, pictures and other sentimental items.
Mitchell's attorney, Bruce Ringstrom Sr., said in an interview that the dispute arose out of a 'fractured relationship' between the senator and her stepmother that has been aggravated by age-related issues.
'It's not exactly the wicked stepmother from Cinderella,' Ringstrom said.
Ringstrom said he's sure there will be 'internal discussions' among Senate Democrats regarding her future, but she's entitled to a presumption of innocence.
He said he told her to suppress her instincts 'as a media person, a weather person and politician,' and that she agreed 'to hold her tongue and say nothing.'
Nicole Mitchell pictured with her father, Rod, in a photo posted to Facebook in 2011. Rod Mitchell passed away in March 2023
She told authorities that she went to her late father's home that he shared with her stepmother to retrieve a flannel shirt, ashes, pictures and other sentimental items. (pictured: Mitchell speaking to the Senate Floor)
Mitchell, who was also a former radio and TV meteorologist, has denied the charges but did not explain why she entered the home without permission in the middle of the night
But in a post on Facebook, Mitchell later denied stealing.
