Gov. Tim Walz joined state DFL Chairman Ken Martin in calling for the resignation of DFL state Sen. Nicole Mitchell on Thursday, less than two weeks after the end of the 2024 legislative session.

"Now that her constituents have had full representation through the end of the legislative session, it is time for her to resign to focus on the personal and legal challenges she faces," Martin said in a statement released at 6:17 a.m.

In an interview before the state Board of Pardons meeting, Walz agreed that Mitchell should step down and focus on her personal life. "I think that's the right decision," he said.

Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy, DFL-St. Paul, did not join them. She said in an interview that Mitchell is entitled to due process on her criminal charge.

In the early morning hours of April 22, Mitchell was arrested at the home her stepmother shared with the senator's late father. Mitchell had driven in the early hours from her Woodbury home and was dressed in all black and carrying a flashlight covered with a sock. Mitchell was charged in Becker County with first-degree burglary.

Mitchell was due in court June 10 for a hearing on the case in Detroit Lakes in front of District Court Judge Gretchen Thilmony. But through her lawyer, Bruce Ringstrom Jr., she asked for a continuance until July 1. The continuance had yet to be granted but was likely given that prosecutor Brian McDonald didn't object, according to a document filed Wednesday.

"While Sen. Mitchell is entitled to her day in court, her continued refusal to take responsibility for her actions is beneath her office and has become a distraction for her district and the Legislature," Martin said. "Now that her constituents have had full representation through the end of the legislative session, it is time for her to resign to focus on the personal and legal challenges she faces."

Mitchell served until the last votes were cast before the midnight deadline of the 2024 legislative session on Sunday, May 19. Her vote was crucial as the DFL Senate majority held just a 34-33 edge over the GOP and many bills passed along party-lines.

Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson, R-East Grand Forks, issued a statement Thursday condemning Martin's timing, saying it's "a clear admission Democrats were so desperate to pass their highly partisan agenda they were willing to use votes of an alleged burglar to do it."

Johnson said the DFL "abused their political majority and embraced" Mitchell instead of working with Republicans. "Now that they no longer need her vote, they are ready to cast her aside," Johnson's statement said.

Mitchell returned to the Senate floor days after the arrest, but she did not engage in debates nor did she explain herself during a Senate ethics hearing on a complaint filed by the GOP. The DFL removed Mitchell from caucus meetings and took away her committee assignments after the arrest.

Martin said the state DFL Party "believes that all elected officials should be held accountable, including members of our own party."

As she has in the past, Murphy emphasized that Mitchell has a right to her day in court. "She deserves due process. She has a right to due process," Murphy said, adding that the Senate Republicans had done "their level best to impair" that right.

Murphy said the Republicans were "cynical" in a persistent and extensive use of Senate floor time for motions to compel action against Mitchell. Murphy said she was so disappointed in the Republicans that she's concerned about the ability of the Senate to govern in the future.

In the past, Murphy said legislators have waited for the resolution of criminal charges before pursuing an internal ethics complaint. During the session, the DFL position was that Mitchell should remain in office so her constituents wouldn't be disenfranchised and unrepresented by her absence.

Murphy said she knew in advance that Martin was planning to call for the resignation and that she spoke to Mitchell on Wednesday night. "It's a serious matter for her. It's a serious matter for our caucus," Murphy said, adding that Mitchell has "to consider what's best for her."

Mitchell, 49, is a freshman who was serving in her second session. She didn't immediately return calls regarding Martin's statement.

Also pending with Judge Thilmony is a request from conservative website Alpha News seeking the immediate release of the footage from the body-worn cameras of the police officers who encountered Mitchell in the home that morning.

Thilmony conducted a hearing on that petition May 20, but has yet to rule.