A homeowner has been found guilty of assault after launching a tarantula into her basement to scare off an alleged squatter.
Marisa Simonetti, 32, a candidate for the US Senate, was convicted on Friday of gross misdemeanour harassment, misdemeanour domestic assault and misdemeanour disorderly conduct after hurling the arachnid at an Airbnb renter.
The incident occurred in June 2024, while Simonetti was a Hennepin County commissioner candidate. Jacklyn Vasquez was a tenant in her Airbnb flat, which was situated in her basement.
Simonetti said the complainant, a 32-year-old attorney, had been "squatting" in her home. Mrs Vasquez instead claims she paid $1,500 to stay there on the popular rental app.
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The conflict began shortly after the attorney moved into the flat and had already been escalating, according to Eden Prairie Local News.
Police are also said to have intervened at one point.
Simonetti claimed she cancelled the reservation merely two weeks after Mrs Vasquez moved in because the renter had been shouting on the phone late into the night.
Speaking to NBC News, Simonetti said Mrs Vasquez "barricaded herself" inside the basement and refused to leave.
Marisa Simonetti has been found guilty of assault after launching a tarantula into her basement to scare off an alleged squatter
|HENNEPIN COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE
On the other hand, Mrs Vasquez claimed "desperately wanted" to leave, but the "hostile environment" created by Simonetti prevented her from doing so.
"I didn't refuse to leave. Only when she was arrested, I fled," she explained.
Things came to a head on June 21, when police were called to the property three times after the Senate prospector accused Mrs Vasquez of intentionally closing a door on her arm, while the claimant said Simonetti had tried to enter the basement by force.
But after the police failed to resolve the issue and "didn't help", Simonetti said she decided to purchase the tarantula as a last resort.
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Chilling online footage shows Marisa Simonetti unleashing the arachnid, as Jacklyn Vasquez says she was hiding in her room, leaving her laptop to record the shocking ordeal
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Mrs Vasquez is said to have previously told Simonetti she was terrified of spiders.
She later admitted she got the idea from the 1990 classic Home Alone, revealing: "I’m not a physically violent person, and I watched the movie Home Alone growing up, and I was like, you know what, this is such a strange situation.
"If I’m scared or hurt, I try and make jokes. And I was so scared, I was just like, I didn’t know what to do, and so, yeah, I got the spider."
Chilling online footage shows Simonetti, who has been accused of taking the door of the basement apart to gain entry, hurling an abundance of objects down the stairs, smashing pans together and shouting "Jesus! Hallelujah!"
Then, the 32-year-old unleashed the arachnid, as Mrs Vasquez said she was hiding in her room, leaving her laptop to record the shocking ordeal.
Simonetti said she had been left no choice as Mrs Vasquez was squatting, before calling her own actions humorous and that she was "a silly goose".
She was arrested after the incident, though released without bond. By the time she returned to her house, the claimant had packed her stuff and left.
Simonetti, representing herself in court, was found guilty of assault and harassment.
"One thing I will concede is these actions appear quite outrageous,' she said. "I'm quite embarrassed, and the situation certainly appears to have been mishandled."
Simonetti vowed to be on the Senate ballot box on November 3, 2026. She is scheduled to be sentenced on May 1.
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