Nicole Mitchell, a former Minnesota state senator, was sentenced to six months in prison for breaking into her stepmother’s house. The 180-day sentence will be served on work release, allowing Mitchell to leave prison daily for employment. She faced up to 20 years in prison after being convicted of first-degree burglary.

Mitchell, a former Air National Guard commander and TV meteorologist, was caught sneaking into her stepmother’s home in Detroit Lakes in April 2024. Surveillance footage showed her dressed entirely in black, including a cap, as she crawled around the bedroom floor. “I messed everything up,” Mitchell told the court during her sentencing hearing. “I deserve to be here today. … I did something wrong and I will work on being a better person.”

The defendant admitted to fleeing when her stepmother discovered her, stating, “I was a coward and I ran.” She acknowledged her actions were unjustified, saying, “Whatever she had to say to me at that point would’ve been 100 percent justified.”

Becker County District Judge Michael Fritz approved Mitchell’s work release sentence in Ramsey County, where she resides. Her legal team reported she recently secured a job at a fast-food restaurant. The judge ordered her to begin serving the sentence by Oct. 8. Minnesota typically requires defendants to serve two-thirds of their term in custody and one-third on supervised release, meaning Mitchell could be free within four months. The judge also stayed a 21-month prison sentence contingent on her compliance with probation terms.

Prosecutors criticized the sentencing as “preferential treatment” for allowing Mitchell to serve her sentence outside Becker County. They also condemned her lack of accountability and refusal to resign her Senate seat, which she did only after a jury convicted her of first-degree burglary and possession of burglary tools in July 2024. Gov. Tim Walz called for special elections on Nov. 4 to fill the vacant Democratic-leaning district seat.