The Minnesota Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court ruling which rejected Alpha News’ request for police footage from the arrest of then-state Sen. Nicole Mitchell. The ruling comes more than two years after Alpha News filed a lawsuit to obtain the footage.
In April of 2024, DFL State Sen. Nicole Mitchell was arrested after breaking into her stepmother’s home in Detroit Lakes. Mitchell was charged with first-degree burglary and an additional charge of possession of burglary tools was added later.
Shortly after Mitchell’s arrest, Alpha News filed a lawsuit which sought to obtain all the police body camera footage from that arrest. The Upper Midwest Law Center (UMLC), a conservative public interest law firm, represented Alpha News in the case.
Over the ensuing two years, the case went back and forth between Becker County District Court and the Minnesota Court of Appeals.
In June of 2024, Becker County District Court dismissed Alpha News’ efforts to release the footage. In a judicial order, Judge Gretchen Thilmony wrote, “the rights of an accused in an active criminal proceeding outweigh the public’s interest in seeing the body-cam footage.”
However, the case went to the Minnesota Court of Appeals which reversed the lower court’s ruling and sent it back to Becker County District Court for further adjudication. That reversal occurred in April of 2025, just a few months before Mitchell went on trial.
In July of 2025, Mitchell went to trial and was found guilty of both charges. During the trial, a significant portion of the footage from her arrest was played. As such, that footage effectively became a part of the public record.
Mitchell resigned from the Minnesota Senate in July 2025 and was later sentenced to six months in jail and five years of probation. She is currently running for Woodbury City Council.
Despite the conviction and disclosure of much of the body camera footage, Alpha News’ request for the footage was still pending in Becker County District Court. On Sept. 5, 2025, a judge again denied Alpha News’ request for disclosure of the footage.
Alpha News again appealed the ruling. On Monday, the Minnesota Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court’s ruling.
In a nonprecedential opinion, the Minnesota Court of Appeals noted that “some, but not all,” of the footage from Mitchell’s arrest was released during trial. However, the appeals court said the lower court “acted within its discretion” in declining to force disclosure.
“We will not substitute our judgment for that of the district court,” wrote the appeals court.
Much of the ruling focused on a Minnesota state law which requires a court to consider whether the benefit of releasing the police footage “outweighs any harm to the public” or to the person who is the subject of the footage.
Additionally, the appeals court explained that the district court was not bound to consider the fact that much of the footage had already been released during the criminal trial.
After the ruling, UMLC President Doug Seaton issued a statement, saying, “We are disappointed in the Court’s decision, but the public interest in this footage remains clear.”
“When an elected official is arrested and later convicted of serious criminal charges, Minnesotans deserve access to the facts,” Seaton added. “Transparency builds trust, and without access to the footage, important questions remain unanswered.”
Luke Sprinkel
Luke Sprinkel previously worked as a Legislative Assistant at the Minnesota House of Representatives. He grew up as a Missionary Kid (MK) living in England, Thailand, Tanzania, and the Middle East. Luke graduated from Regent University in 2018.
