Minnesota woman running for U.S. Senate found guilty in tarantula-throwing incident

A Minnesota woman running for U.S. Senate, accused of throwing a live tarantula onto a staircase leading to where her then-tenant was staying, has been convicted in the 2024 incident, according to court records.

A jury on Friday found Marisa Simonetti, 32, guilty of one count each of domestic assault, harassment and disorderly conduct, all misdemeanors.

According to the criminal complaint, an individual had been renting out the basement of Simonetti's Edina, Minnesota, home through Airbnb in June 2024. They reported to police that "everything had been fine" until she requested that pest control be hired due to "a lot of large spiders in the basement."

Simonetti started insulting and calling the individual names after they made the request, the complaint said. 

During the night of June 20, 2024, police responded to the home after Simonetti "intercepted" groceries ordered by the individual and refused to return them until officers told her to do so, court documents said.

The individual called 911 the next morning after Simonetti had been banging pots and pans, according to the complaint. The officer who spoke with them could hear loud banging and screaming for a "significant portion" of the roughly 28-minute call. They reported Simonetti had cut off Wi-Fi and had little ability to communicate with anyone to find a new place. 

According to court documents, the individual called 911 around two hours after Simonetti made loud noises to report she and a man were trying to take a door leading to their living space apart. They later reported the pair got the door open and that they were hiding in their bedroom.

Officers at the scene heard loud music playing inside the home and loud metal clanking, the complaint said. When talking with police, Simonetti said she was "singing praise to the lord" and having devotional time. The officers said her behavior was erratic, per court documents.

Police later reviewed a video the individual recorded of Simonetti and the man, which showed the pair talking through a closed door while music was playing loudly, according to the complaint. The video later showed the door was breached, and Simonetti throwing a live tarantula onto stairs leading to the basement and spraying an "unknown substance" in the stairwell.

Court documents said tacks, blocks and toys were also thrown down the stairs during the video. 

The individual told police Simonetti had "created so much fear" in them that they could only imagine the reason she and the man would force entry into her living space would be to harm her, according to the complaint.

Simonetti is scheduled to be sentenced on May 1. She unsuccessfully ran twice for a Hennepin County commissioner seat in 2024, state records show. 

NOTE: The attached video first aired on Jan. 9, 2025.