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Politics and Government News

January 7, 2025 11:45 AM

Judge grants media requests to record Minnesota senator’s burglary trial

Two people raise their right hands — Sen. Nicole Mitchell raises her right hand while taking an oath during a Subcommittee on Ethical Conduct hearing in St. Paul on May 7, 2024.
Ben Hovland | MPR News

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A Becker County judge has granted a request allowing Minnesota news outlets to record the jury trial of a Minnesota senator charged with burglary.

In an order dated Monday, Judge Michael Fritz granted requests from MPR News, WCCO-TV, KARE 11, KSTP, FOX 9, Valley News Live and the Minnesota Star Tribune to gather video and audio recordings from Sen. Nicole Mitchell’s trial.

“As an elected member of the Minnesota state Senate, Ms. Mitchell is a public figure, and there is therefore a heightened public interest in this case,” Fritz wrote.

Mitchell, a first-term DFLer from Woodbury, was arrested last year at her stepmother's Detroit Lakes home. She was charged with burglary and is accused of taking several items that she said belonged to her late father.

Mitchell has said the incident was a misunderstanding and she has pleaded not guilty. She has refused calls from Republicans and some Democrats to resign her Senate seat.

Fritz declined a request for media outlets to livestream or live broadcast the proceedings. He also said that the media cannot show members of the jury or witnesses who object to being recorded.

The trial is scheduled to begin on Jan. 27.

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