DFL Senator Nicole Mitchell says she will not resign after Republican calls for ouster

One day after Republican state senators introduced a motion to expel DFL State Senator Nicole Mitchell (Woodbury) after she was formally charged with first degree burglary for allegedly breaking into her stepmother's Detroit Lakes home early Monday morning, she's responding.

In a statement released through her attorney Mitchell expressed disappointment and says there is information that hasn't been publicly shared yet.

"While I cannot elaborate more at the advice of counsel, I can say I am 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," Mitchell says.

She continues:

"It saddens me that some people are attempting to use a tragic family situation to score political points, and I am grateful to those who believe, as I always have, that everyone should be allowed the due process guaranteed in our Constitution."

Mitchell said that she is confident that a different picture will emerge when all of the facts are known.

"I am as committed to my constituents today as the day I was elected, including important work for veterans and children, and I do not intend to resign," she finished.

Her counsel says they are advising her to keep quiet on the specific accusations for now.

"Contrary to what has been said and written by others, there is effectively no actual evidence that has yet been made public," her attorney says. "Litigating a criminal case correctly and justly takes time, and until those allegations are actually tested in a court of law--where the rules of evidence, the right of confrontation, and other components of due process are enforced--it is irresponsible to make hasty conclusions."

Meanwhile, the Senat Ethics Committee has 30 days to decide the matter of her ability to stay in the senate, but there are only weeks left in the session. The motion made by Republicans to expel Mitchell failed on Wednesday.

Mitchell was not on the senate floor for Wednesday's vote. After the session, Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy (St. Paul) said the situation is “heartbreaking and troubling,” but says the work of the session must go on.