Minnesota
Minnesota Senate ethics panel delays action on complaint against Sen. Nicole Mitchell until after next court date
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The ethics panel weighing a complaint against DFL Sen. Nicole Mitchell, who faces a felony charge, moved to delay action and meet again following her June court appearance after an hours-long and at times heated hearing Tuesday.
At issue was a complaint alleging Mitchell violated Senate rules on conduct, betraying the public trust and bringing the chamber into “dishonor or disrepute” with the allegations and her comments disputing the details laid out by police in the criminal complaint.
Mitchell is charged with first-degree burglary for breaking into her stepmother’s home two weeks ago to retrieve her late father’s ashes and other items, investigators say; Mitchell said she was trying to check in on her loved one whose health was a concern.
“We are not asking you to serve as the court of law. We are asking you to uphold the integrity of this institution and restore public trust,” said Sen. Karin Housley, R-Stillwater, one of the Republicans who filed the complaint. “We’re asking you to look at the Senate rules and ask yourself, truly, is it the norm of the Senate to be caught red-handed engaged in a burglary?”
The Minnesota Senate Subcommittee on Ethical Conduct consists of two Republicans and two Democrats who convene—usually infrequently — to hear complaints about members.
Mitchell did not speak during the entirety of the meeting Tuesday. She looked on before joining her attorney, Bruce Ringstrom Jr., who answered questions and made statements on her behalf. He urged the committee to delay action until after the criminal proceeding and argued acting sooner would violate her right to due process.
“The term witch hunt is thrown around a lot around in politics these days and it is often misused,” Ringstrom said. “A witch hunt is premised on the idea of the side being on someone’s guilt built without regard to the evidence in the case without allowing the person to defend themselves. But here the term fits.”
He continued: “Conducting an ethics investigation after the criminal case seems appropriate. By conducting an ethics investigation before the criminal case, you are participating in the witch hunt.”
Housley and Sen. Eric Lucero, R-Saint Michael, detailed their allegations against Mitchell, demanding the bipartisan panel “to take decisive action” to protect the Senate’s “reputation and uphold its commitment to Minnesotans.”
In response to many questions, Ringstrom said Mitchell invoked the Fifth Amendment, or her right against self-incrimination.
After a robust debate, the panel made several motions on how to proceed with the ethics complaint, but all the attempts ended in stalemate — the two Republicans and two Democrats divided on party-lines — until after the committee retreated to a private meeting out of public view.
Members returned and approved a delay, with plans to return June 12 after Mitchell’s next court appearance on June 10 — barring any new information “of substance,” explained Sen. Bobby Joe Champion, DFL-Minneapolis, that would prompt them to meet sooner.
“Your fact finding capacity cannot be as expansive as if there were no pending criminal case. And to be clear–if we didn’t think this hearing had potential negative implications on Sen. Mitchell’s rights in her criminal case, we wouldn’t be here,” Ringstrom said earlier.
Lawmakers on the panel took turns grilling each other and Mitchell’s attorney and the debate often fell on party-lines — GOP members of the panel pointedly questioned Mitchell’s attorney while DFL Sen. Bobby Joe Champion did the same for the Republicans who filed the complaint in the first place.
The discussion at times grew tense.
“I’ve sat through a lot of hearings this session and the last couple of years and that might’ve been one of the more inflammatory ones I’ve heard,” said Sen. Eric Mathews, R-Princeton.
Ever since the charges were filed following her arrest on April 22, the issue has loomed large in the Minnesota Senate, where Republicans have demanded Mitchell’s resignation and swift action on the ethics complaint, though her attorney said she intends to stay in office.
Her presence is essential for Democrats in charge of the chamber to move their agenda — she is the deciding vote on major pieces of legislation for their razor-thin, one-seat majority. Mitchell has voted in recent days on bills brought to the floor.
The next meeting scheduled for the ethics panel will be after lawmakers adjourn for the year. The constitutional deadline to end is May 20, less than two weeks away.
Minnesota
Utah Mammoth take down Minnesota 5-2 to end the Wild’s winning streak at 6
The Wild were taken down by the Utah Mammoth 5-2 on Friday night to end Minnesota’s winning streak at six games.
Lawson Crouse scored twice and U.S. Olympian Clayton Keller had a goal and two assists for Utah.
Logan Cooley and Barrett Hayton also scored and Karel Vejmelka made 21 saves to help the Mammoth rebound from a 4-2 home loss to NHL-leading Colorado on Wednesday night in their return from the Olympic break. Utah began the night in the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference.
U.S. Olympian Matt Boldy scored and assisted on Kirill Kaprizov’s goal for Minnesota. Second behind Central Division-rival Colorado in the West, the Wild are 9-2-1 in their last 12. They beat the Avalanche 5-2 on Thursday night in Denver.
Cooley opened the scoring with a short-handed goal with 6:37 left in the first period. The former University of Minnesota star got the puck on the right side off a deflection and put a shot between Wallstedt’s legs for his 15th goal.
Keller scored his 18th at 4:26 of the second. Nick Schmaltz forced a turnover on a forecheck and fed Keller on the right side.
Crouse made it 3-0 at 7:49 of the second. He came down the middle, took a pass from Keller and beat Wallstedt with a backhander.
Kaprizov countered for Minnesota on a power play with 5:57 left in the second. He has 33 goals this season.
Hayton made it 4-1 on a power play at 1:19 of the third, and Crouse added his 16th of the season on a tip with 7:12 to go.
Boldy got his 35th of the season with 5:57 remaining.
Up next
Wild: Host St. Louis on Sunday.
Mammoth: Host Chicago on Sunday.
Minnesota
Shorthanded Clippers can’t keep pace with Anthony Edwards and Minnesota
Anthony Edwards scored 31 points, Donte DiVincenzo added 18 and the surging Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Clippers 94-88 on Thursday night.
Jaden McDaniels and Ayo Dosunmu each scored 12 points and Rudy Gobert had 13 rebounds to help the Timberwolves improve to 5-1 since Feb. 9 and 3-1 since the All-Star break.
Edwards, returning to the site of the All-Star Game, where he was the MVP, was 12 for 24 from the floor and sealed the victory with a step-back three-pointer over two defenders for a 92-88 lead with 42.9 seconds left.
Minnesota improved to 2-0 on a three-game trip.
Derrick Jones Jr. scored 18 points and Bennedict Mathurin added 14 for the Clippers, who struggled from the outset with a season-low 38 points in the first half. Kris Dunn had 11 points for the Clippers (27-31), who have lost three consecutive games for the first time since December.
The Clippers struggled on offense without star Kawhi Leonard, out because of ankle soreness. The Clippers shot 40.5% from the floor, including 18.2% (four for 22) in the second quarter. Minnesota shot 43.4% in the game.
The Timberwolves (37-23) scored just 15 points in the second quarter and still topped the Clippers, who had 11. Minnesota led 44-38 at halftime behind 12 points from DiVincenzo and 11 from Edwards.
The Clippers led by six in the third quarter and were up 68-63 heading into the fourth. Edwards’ drive and reverse layup put the Timberwolves up for good at 76-74 with 7:40 remaining.
The Clippers pulled within one three times in the last 2½ minutes, but Edwards answered each time. He scored the Timberwolves’ last nine points.
Up next for Clippers: vs. New Orleans on Sunday night.
Minnesota
Church congregant filed lawsuit against alleged Minnesota church protesters
A St. Paul church member has filed a federal lawsuit alleging that a group of individuals, including journalist Don Lemon and activist Nekima Levy Armstrong, unlawfully disrupted service last month as part of a coordinated political demonstration.
The complaint, filed by Ann Doucette in the U.S. District Court of Minnesota, alleges that a Jan. 18 demonstration at Cities Church interfered with her ability to worship and caused her to suffer damages, including emotional distress and trauma.
In addition to the former CNN anchor and Armstrong, the complaint names journalist Georgia Fort and activists Will Kelly, Jerome Richardson, Trahern Crews and Jamael Lundy. It also names St. Paul school board member Chauntyll Allen.
Doucette and seven of the defendants did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Doucette filed the complaint without the representation of an attorney. In an emailed statement to NBC News, Crews denied the lawsuit’s allegations “with empathy and compassion.”
The lawsuit accuses the group of civil conspiracy, aiding and abetting, intentional infliction of emotional distress, interference with religious exercise and trespassing.
“As a result of Defendants’ actions, the worship service was disrupted, congregants experienced fear and distress, and Plaintiff’s ability to freely exercise her religion in a private place of worship was unlawfully interfered with,” the lawsuit states.
All eight defendants are also facing federal charges for conspiracy against the rights of religious freedom at a place of worship and for interfering with the exercise of the right of religious freedom. Lemon has pleaded not guilty to all charges, saying outside the court, “I wanted to say this isn’t just about me, this is about all journalists, especially in the United States.”
Fort, Crews and Lundy were released on bond and entered not guilty pleas, according to The Associated Press.
This is the latest legal action tied to protests in the Twin Cities, where tensions remain over the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown and the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
According to the lawsuit, the demonstrators engaged in “coordinated conduct” by organizing meetings ahead of the “Operation Pullup” protest and promoting it on social media.
The lawsuit alleges that on the morning of Jan. 18, a coordinated group of individuals entered Cities Church, halting the worship service, and chanting “‘ICE Out!’ and ‘Hands Up, Don’t Shoot!’” while obstructing aisles. Protesters could allegedly be seen “confronting the pastor and congregants in a menacing manner,” the lawsuit says, noting that their chanting and “aggressive gestures” caused “severe emotional distress, fear, anxiety, and trauma” and caused children “terror.”
Demonstrators gathered at the church because they said its pastor, David Easterwood, was the acting director of an ICE field office in the city, the lawsuit says.
Lemon was arrested in January in California and accused of violating federal civil rights law after covering the protest on Jan. 18. He was released on a personal recognizance bond before a federal grand jury in Minnesota returned the indictment against Lemon and eight co-defendants, all of whom are also named in Doucette’s lawsuit.
In the lawsuit, Doucette alleges that Lemon specifically livestreamed the protest, “noting congregants’ fear and distress, and appeared to take satisfaction in the disruption.”
Levy Armstrong, a Minneapolis-based civil rights attorney and activist, was also arrested for her participation in the St. Paul protest. Her arrest drew national attention after the White House shared on social media doctored photos where she appeared to be crying.
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