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New charges could land a Minnesota state senator 20 years in prison after the legislator, decked out in all black, was arrested in her stepmother’s basement.

“Clearly, I’m not good at this. I know I did something bad.”

(Video: WCCO)

An early morning 911 call brought police to a Detroit Lakes home Monday where they soon discovered first-term state Sen. Nicole Mitchell (D), 49, had fled to the basement. There, the Air National Guard commander and former meteorologist for KTSP-TV and Minnesota Public Radio was confronted over her presence in the home of her stepmother and the contents of a black backpack.

“Clearly I’m not good at this. I know I did something bad,” the Democratic lawmaker was reported as saying to investigators according to the complaint. Initially brought in under suspicion of burglary having been found in black clothes and a black hat with a flashlight covered by a sock, Mitchell was formally charged Tuesday with first-degree burglary.

“I was trying to get a couple of my dad’s things because you wouldn’t talk to me anymore,” the freshman lawmaker was documented telling her stepmother who had made the 4:45 a.m. call to the police.

According to the complaint, the contents of the backpack were listed as including two laptops, a cellphone, identifying documents and Tupperware. While she claimed one of the laptops had been given to her by her stepmother to explain away the reason the woman’s name was on it when it was turned on, the stepmother denied that story.

Mitchell, who claimed she had only “just gotten into the house” when they arrived, was detailed by the complaint to have allegedly been after “pictures, a flannel shirt, ashes, and other items of sentimental value.”

Social media account “I Meme Therefore I Am” shared Mitchell’s mugshot from Becker County Jail, where she was being held until an expected 11 a.m. hearing Tuesday, alongside a report from WCCO that included a statement from the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party spokesperson who said, “The Senate DFL Caucus is aware of the situation and has no comment pending further information.”

In his own statement on the arrest of the freshman Democrat, state Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson said, “The public expects Legislators to meet a high standard of conduct. As information comes out, we expect the consequences to meet the actions, both in the court of law, and in her role at the legislature.”

Meanwhile, in the “just can’t make this stuff up” category, the Libs of TikTok social media account juxtaposed the arrest with recent advocacy from Mitchell with gun-grabbing Everytown’s subgroup Moms Demand Action promoting actions for “safer communities.”

“Minnesota State Senator Nicole Mitchell (D) was just arrested for 1st-degree burglary. This comes a few days after she publicly advocated for building ‘safer communities,’” wrote LoTT. “You just can’t make this stuff up…”

Kevin Haggerty
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