Minnesota state Sen. Nicole Mitchell was formally convicted of felony burglary charges on Friday following a trial that concluded over a year after her initial arrest. The conviction comes after she was found guilty of breaking into her stepmother’s home in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota. Mitchell, a member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL), now faces up to 20 years in prison, with her potential resignation from the Senate pending. Despite the severity of the charges, some members of her own party, including Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy, have expressed support, emphasizing the due process she was afforded.
The case has sparked widespread discussion about the intersection of personal circumstances and political accountability. Mitchell, who was arrested in April 2024, claimed she entered her stepmother’s home to retrieve her late father’s belongings, citing her stepmother’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis as a reason for her actions. During her arrest, she admitted on bodycam footage that she was