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Democratic Minnesota state Sen. Nicole Mitchell refused to testify Tuesday during an ethics panel regarding the burglary charge she faces for allegedly breaking into her stepmother’s home last month.
Mitchell invoked her Fifth Amendment rights and did not speak during her appearance in front of the panel, which is made up of two Democrats and two Republicans.
The panel, however, remained divided on a potential path forward regarding Mitchell’s future in the legislature following the charges.
"Sen. Nicole Mitchell’s actions are a clear violation of Senate rules and leave the Minnesota Senate under a cloud of distrust," Republican Sen. Eric Lucero, of St. Michael, told the ethics panel.
Sen. Nicole Mitchell did not speak when she appeared in front of an ethics panel on Tuesday. (Minnesota State Senate)
Democratic Sen. Bobby Joe Champion of Minneapolis, who chairs the panel, told his colleagues that the prudent thing to do was to wait until the evidence could be tested for accuracy.
Sen. Nicole Mitchell was elected to represent Minnesota's Senate District 47 in 2022. (AP Photo/Steve Karnowski, File)
Mitchell was removed from committee assignments and caucus meetings after she was arrested at her stepmother’s home on April 22. The state senator was later charged with first-degree burglary.
Mitchell has denied the allegations and claimed that she was merely checking on an ill loved one.
According to a criminal complaint, Mitchell acknowledged that she entered through a window and told investigators she was trying to get her late father's ashes, photos, a flannel shirt and other items of sentimental value, claiming her stepmother had stopped speaking to her after her father’s death and refused to give her the items.
Democratic state Sen. Nicole Mitchell, 47, was charged with first-degree burglary last month. Mitchell denies the charge. (Becker County Jail)
One of Mitchell's attorneys, Bruce Ringstrom Jr., told them she might enter a plea at her next court hearing, which is set for June 10, but said the proceeding could be delayed. The decision means the panel will take no further action before the legislative session's adjournment deadline of May 20.
Mitchell, of Woodbury, has represented District 47 since she was elected to the state Senate in 2022. She was previously a meteorologist for KSTP-TV and Minnesota Public Radio and serves as a lieutenant colonel in the Air National Guard.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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