DFL Sen. Nicole Mitchell pleads not guilty to burglarizing stepmother's home

DETROIT LAKES, Minn. — A Minnesota state senator has pleaded not guilty to burglarizing the home of her estranged stepmother after her father's death.

Sen. Nicole Mitchell , a Democrat from the St. Paul suburb of Woodbury, was charged in April. She told police at the time that she broke into the home in the northwestern Minnesota town of Detroit Lakes because her stepmother refused to give her items of sentimental value from her late father, including his ashes, according to the felony criminal complaint.

In a joint court filing Tuesday, defense and prosecution attorneys said Mitchell was pleading not guilty, and was asking the court to schedule both a settlement conference and jury trial.

The two sides also agreed that prosecutors won't be able to argue that Mitchell stole a laptop computer that police seized when they arrested her. Ownership of the laptop had been in dispute. The agreement says that prosecutors can, however, use evidence from the laptop if the case goes to trial.

Mitchell's arrest roiled the 2024 legislative session , which came to an acrimonious end, and ethics proceedings against her remain on hold pending developments in her criminal case. She denied stealing and rejected Republican calls for her resignation . Gov. Tim Walz and DFL Party Chair Ken Martin also said she should resign , though her attorney said she intends to stay in office as her criminal case proceeds.

Mitchell was removed from her committee assignments and caucus meetings but remained the key vote for Democrats to pass their agenda in the latest legislative session with their one-seat majority, including many last-minute end-of-session bills.

Mitchell was dressed all in black and wearing a black hat when she was arrested, the complaint said, and it quoted her as saying, "I know I did something bad."

Her attorney has said that her dispute with her stepmother arose out of a "fractured relationship" that was aggravated by age-related issues.

Mitchell's father died in March 2023 at the age of 72, according to his obituary. He had been married to Mitchell's stepmother for 40 years, it said.

Mitchell, who has also been a TV meteorologist and a commander with the Air National Guard, was elected in 2022 and is in her first term.