A Minnesota state senator convicted of burglary for breaking into her estranged stepmother’s house plans to resign by early August, her lawyer said Monday.
Democratic state Sen. Nicole Mitchell has faced calls from fellow Minnesota lawmakers for her immediate resignation since her conviction on Friday. The jury deliberated for three hours before finding her guilty of first-degree burglary and possession of burglary tools.
The 51-year-old lawmaker needs two weeks to wrap up her legislative duties and secure health insurance for her son by the time of her Aug. 4 resignation, her lawyer wrote in the statement.
Mitchell represents a Democratic-leaning suburban district outside the Twin Cities in a closely divided state Senate.
After the verdict last week, Democratic Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy Mitchell said that Mitchell told colleagues that she planned to resign if convicted, “and I expect her to follow through on that pledge.”
Senate Republic Leader Mark Johnson released a statement Monday pushing for Mitchell to resign immediately instead of waiting two weeks.
“Senator Mitchell was convicted of two felonies; she doesn’t get to give the Senate two weeks’ notice,” he wrote in a statement Monday. “The only reason Mitchell is still in office is because Democrats needed her vote to pass their agenda and refused to hold her accountable during session.”
Mitchell was arrested on April 22, 2024, and told police that she broke into her stepmother’s home because the stepmother refused to give her items like her late father’s ashes and other belongings. Mitchell’s father and stepmother Carol Mitchell had been married for 40 years.
Later on the stand, the lawmaker backtracked her statement and said she had not intended to take anything and wanted to check on the well-being of her stepmother, who has Alzheimer’s disease.