The felony burglary trial of State Sen. Nicole Mitchell, DFL-Woodbury, was postponed this morning in the wake of the assassination of Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman, the leader of the DFL in the Minnesota House of Representatives.
In April of 2024, Mitchell was arrested and charged with felony burglary after allegedly breaking into her stepmother’s Detroit Lakes home. In the months since, prosecutors have added a second felony charge (possession of burglary or theft tools), and GOP legislators have attempted to expel Mitchell from the Minnesota Senate.
Mitchell’s trial was scheduled to take place this January, but a judge delayed it in order to let the DFLer attend the legislative session. Minnesota’s 2025 legislative session officially concluded last week and jury selection in Mitchell’s trial was set to begin today.
However, Mitchell requested a continuance in the case “out of reverence for Saturday’s unspeakable tragedy, and to allow the partisan political temperature in Minnesota time to cool down.”
The Becker County Attorney did not object to the request “given the unprecedented circumstances,” per court documents. Judge Michael Fritz granted the request this morning, and a new start date for the trial will be determined in the coming days.
In the early morning hours of Saturday, June 14, Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park, and her husband, Mark, were shot and killed in their home by an assassin who was reportedly posing as a law enforcement officer.
Just before that attack, Sen. John Hoffman, DFL-Champlin, and his wife, Yvette, were shot multiple times in their Champlin home. Both Hoffman and his wife have received surgery and are expected to recover.
Authorities arrested Vance Luther Boelter last night in Green Isle, Minn., in connection with both shootings. Boelter was booked in Hennepin County jail early this morning and faces multiple murder charges. The 57-year-old is expected to face federal charges as well.
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.
