Police body-camera footage of Minnesota state Sen. Nicole Mitchell’s arrest was shown at her trial Wednesday, stemming from an alleged break-in at her stepmother’s home in Detroit Lakes on April 22, 2024. Mitchell, a Democrat elected in 2022, faces charges of first-degree burglary and possession of burglary or theft tools. She has pleaded not guilty.

Mitchell told officers she entered the home to retrieve belongings of her late father, whose widow, Carol Mitchell, suffers from Alzheimer’s. In the footage, Carol refers to Nicole as her stepdaughter and a senator, adding, “Well, she is… after this,” referencing the arrest. Mitchell is seen cuffed in a police cruiser, explaining she was “just trying to get some of my dad’s things” and admitting, “clearly, I’m not good at this.”

Police found Mitchell in the basement wearing black and carrying a flashlight wrapped in a sock. They also recovered a black backpack wedged in a window containing laptops, a cellphone, her Senate ID, and other items. Prosecutors argued Mitchell’s actions were part of a calculated plan, while her defense claimed she was acting as a concerned family member. Carol Mitchell testified she felt “extremely violated” by the break-in.

In related news, Minnesota recently mourned two Democratic lawmakers who were shot in separate attacks by a man impersonating a police officer. State Sen. John Hoffman survived, but former State House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her spouse were killed in the shootings.

Authorities arrested Vance Boelter, who engaged police in a shootout before fatally attacking Hortman. Governor Tim Walz condemned the violence as “targeted political violence” and called for peaceful discourse, emphasizing that political differences should never be settled with violence.

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