MN Democrat Lawmaker to Resign after Conviction for Burglary

When it comes to Democrats of the day, the words “lawmaker” and “lawbreaker” are often synonyms. In the latest case that erased the line between the two words, Democrat Senator Nicole Mitchell of the Minnesota State Senate was convicted of burglary and she has announced her resignation.

The news of Senator Mitchell’s announcement to resign from her office broke on Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) on Monday, July 21. The story briefly touched on Mitchell’s recent conviction on two felony charges of burglary that go back to April 2024, when she was arrested at her stepmother’s home in Detroit Lakes.

Senator Mitchell’s resignation news comes after significant political pressure that started right after her arrest. Republicans in the state senate filed an ethics complaint against her to unseat her, but her Democrat colleagues came to her defense, arguing that she deserves due process and is innocent until proven guilty in the court of law. Thus, Mitchell kept her senate seat.

Now that she has been convicted, more than a year after her arrest, Democrats have realized that Mitchell’s case is defenseless and may cause further damage to the party’s reputation. So they decided to act as if they care about ethics. Accordingly, MPR reported:

Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy, DFL-St. Paul, made clear after the verdict that Mitchell needed to go. She said Mitchell previously told colleagues she would resign her seat if a jury found her guilty. 

Yet, the elected Democrat felon is not going away without one last rip off. As reported in The Western Journal (July 23), Mitchell means to resign by August 4, despite having been convicted for a week by the time her announcement to resign came out. The story cited Minnesota Republican Party Chair Alex Plechash, who bashed Mitchell for delaying her resignation. He also hinted at the reason behind Mitchell’s choice of timing:

“Nicole Mitchell was convicted of felony burglary last week. Instead of doing the right thing and stepping down immediately, she now plans to stick around for another two weeks — just long enough to collect another taxpayer-funded paycheck.” Conservatives on social media didn’t miss the point as they called out Senator Mitchell for her criminal conviction. J. M. Peterman of MN connected Mitchell’s felony to her past advocacy for felons to let them hold public office even when they are on probation.

The left-leaning Axios reported on Mitchell’s conviction with political anxiety as it foresaw the possibility of Democrats losing control of the state senate in case her seat was won by a Republican in a special election following her resignation. Currently, the Democrats have only one seat majority in the MN State Senate, i.e. 34-33. Mitchell’s departure means a legislative deadlock in the chamber.

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