Fact check: Controlled substances were not involved in DFL Sen. Nicole Mitchell’s burglary case

The Becker County Attorney’s Office erroneously stated in a court filing this week that suspected controlled substances were being tested as part of the felony burglary case against Democratic state Sen. Nicole Mitchell.

Mitchell was arrested and charged with first-degree burglary last week after she allegedly broke into her stepmother’s home in the middle of the night to take some of her late father’s belongings. Republicans, including some state legislators and lobbyists, quickly circulated the court filing on social media, inviting further criticism of the embattled senator from Woodbury.

“‘Controlled Substances’ found in the arrest of @MinnesotaDFL Senator charged with a #Felony!,” state Rep. Pam Altendorf, R-Red Wing, posted Wednesday before the county attorney said the filing was inaccurate. “This is the story that just keeps getting bigger, Bigger and BIGGER!!!”

State Rep. Nolan West, R-Blaine, posted that “Driving 3.5 hours after 1am does indicate stimulants could be involved.”

In an interview Thursday morning, Becker County Attorney Brian McDonald told the Star Tribune he mistakenly included boilerplate language about controlled substances in the court filing.

“It’s an oversight on my part. I was trying to push out the discovery as soon as I could to the defense, and I used a boilerplate form and it should have been deleted,” McDonald said.

“I’m not aware of anything to do with controlled substances discovered. She’s not charged with any controlled substances. It’s not discussed in the complaint,” he added.

McDonald said he’s since filed an amended court document without the erroneous language, saying, “I’m sorry for the confusion I created.”

The burglary case against Mitchell has high political stakes. Democrats control the Minnesota Senate by a one-seat margin and can’t pass a long list of bills without Mitchell’s vote.

Senate Republicans have called for Mitchell’s resignation and filed an ethics complaint against her that will receive a hearing next week.

The Senate DFL removed Mitchell from legislative committee assignments and caucus meetings, but she can still vote on bills. Democrats have argued that Mitchell is entitled to due process.

Mitchell returned to the State Capitol on Monday and has since voted on motions related to whether she should be allowed to participate.

Republicans motioned for the Senate to formally request Mitchell’s resignation on Tuesday, but the measure failed on a 33-34 vote, with all Democrats, including Mitchell, voting against it.

Had Mitchell abstained, the GOP motion still would have failed on a tie vote.

Mitchell cast similar votes on Monday. Republicans offered motions then to prohibit Mitchell from voting on bills until an ethics investigation has been completed, but the DFL Senate president ruled them out of order. Every Senate Democrat, including Mitchell, voted to uphold the president’s decision.

The senator has declined to answer reporters’ questions at the Capitol this week. When Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson, R-East Grant Forks, asked Mitchell on the floor Wednesday if she would yield for a question, she replied, “No thank you.”

On Thursday, 14 Woodbury residents held a news conference to announce they’d received more than 759 signatures on a petition calling on Mitchell to resign. Some of them are long-time GOP activists. Their main concern is that they’re disenfranchised by Mitchell’s absence from committees and caucus meetings.

“We need a senator who can fully represent us without the shadows,” Mike Dicks of Woodbury said.

Mitchell was arrested in the basement of her stepmother’s Detroit Lakes home just before 5 a.m. last week. She was dressed in black and admitted to entering the house through a sliding basement window, according to the criminal complaint. Officers found a flashlight covered with a black sock near Mitchell and a backpack containing several items, including a laptop authorities suggested belonged to the stepmother.

She allegedly told police, “I know I did something bad,” but said she entered the home to take some of her late father’s belongings, including his ashes. Mitchell shared a different version of events on Facebook after being released from jail, denying stealing and saying she drove from Woodbury to Detroit Lakes in the middle of the night to conduct a welfare check on a family member who has declined “due to Alzheimer’s and associated paranoia.”

In a statement last week, Mitchell said, “I am confident that a much different picture will emerge when all of the facts are known.”

Star Tribune staff writer Rochelle Olson contributed to this story.