Democratic Minnesota state senator Nicole Mitchell, a 49-year-old politician, was charged by police with burglarizing her stepmother’s home Monday, CNN reported.
Mitchell was alleged to have done this out of a desire to obtain her father’s ashes and other items of sentimental value, according to a court document obtained by CNN.
The senator wore black clothing and a black hat during the alleged break-in, the court document obtained by CNN said.
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“I was just trying to get a couple of my dad’s things because you wouldn’t talk to me anymore,” Mitchell allegedly told her stepmother when she was being arrested, the court document read, the outlet reported. “Clearly, I’m not good at this,” Mitchell told police while also mentioning that she had “done something bad,” the court document alleged.
Mitchell said she was “extremely disappointed that the complaint lacks the complete information of the incident including important context, including that I have known the other person involved in this incident since I was four and care deeply about her” in a statement issued by Bruce Ringstrom Jr., the senator’s attorney, CNN reported.
Mitchell also posted on Facebook Wednesday protesting her innocence. “Like so many families, mine is dealing with the pain of watching a loved one decline due to Alzheimer’s and associated paranoia. Over the weekend, I learned of medical information which caused me grave concern and prompted me to check on that family member. I entered a home I have come and gone from countless times in the past 20 years, where my son even once had his own room. Unfortunately, I startled this close relative, exacerbating paranoia, and I was accused of stealing, which I absolutely deny,” she wrote.
A transcript of the police call by the stepmother obtained by Star Tribune showed that the stepmother said “Somebody has broken into my house” and ran into the basement. The stepmother referred to the suspect as “he” during the conversation with the police. “I tripped over ’em. Ah, he was on the floor next to my bed. He ran downstairs into my basement,” the stepmother said when the police pressed her to describe the suspect.
The stepmother has shared in an interview that she was scared of her stepdaughter and that she had already sent Mitchell some of her father’s ashes before the break-in, the Associated Press (AP) reported. Mitchell’s attorney disputed this account by saying it was “not totally accurate,” the outlet reported. (RELATED: Man Arrested For Alleged Attempted Burglary At Karen Bass’ Los Angeles Home)
Senate Republicans have since Wednesday filed an ethics complaint against Mitchell and have expressed a desire for her to step down, CNN reported. “This behavior is unbecoming of a member of the Legislature and she needs to resign from the Senate immediately,” Republican Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson explained, USA Today reported.