Marisa Simonetti, a U.S. Senate candidate from Edina, is facing a new misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct, according to Edina police and Hennepin County court records.
The charge stems from a March 10 incident at Simonetti’s home. Police were called after reports that a 6- or 7-year-old boy was throwing snowballs at passing vehicles while his mother, later identified as Simonetti, was recording video, according to a case report summary from Edina police. Simonetti later confirmed the boy is 7. The charge was filed March 11, according to court records.
Simonetti, 31, is representing herself and has filed a motion to dismiss. She argues that the state has not provided a criminal complaint or any evidence linking her to disorderly conduct under Minnesota law. Her motion states there were no witness statements, no physical evidence and no contact with her on the day of the incident.
“All I can comment on is that I’ve filed an order to show cause and expect this to be dismissed for lack of evidence,” Simonetti said in a statement to Eden Prairie Local News.
An arraignment is scheduled for Thursday, April 17, in Hennepin County District Court’s Ridgedale location in Minnetonka.
This is the second pending criminal case involving Simonetti. She is also charged with fifth-degree assault, accused of throwing a live tarantula and other objects at an Airbnb guest in June 2024. That case, also filed in Hennepin County District Court in Minnetonka, has a pretrial hearing set for May 8.
Simonetti, a former Hennepin County Board candidate, announced her Senate campaign on March 28. Running as an independent, she has denied wrongdoing in the assault case.
The earlier incident occurred during Simonetti’s 2024 campaign for the District 6 seat on the Hennepin County Board, which includes parts of Eden Prairie, Edina, Minnetonka and Hopkins. She advanced from a six-way primary but lost to former DFL state Rep. Heather Edelson in both the May special election and the November general election.
Simonetti has leaned into the notoriety from the 2024 incident, referring to herself as the “tarantula tosser” on social media and selling themed merchandise to raise campaign funds.
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