MN Republican Arrested On Suspicion Of Soliciting 16-Year-Old Girl

BLOOMINGTON, MN — A Minnesota Republican state senator was arrested Monday on suspicion of soliciting a minor for prostitution, just hours after introducing a bill seeking to classify "Trump Derangement Syndrome" as a mental illness.

Justin Eichorn, 40, who represents the Grand Rapids area, was taken into custody around 6 p.m. on March 17 in Bloomington. He is being held in the Hennepin County Jail without bail and had not been formally charged as of Wednesday morning.

The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office is expected to file felony charges of soliciting a minor under 18 for prostitution.

Eichorn, 40, is married with four children. He was first elected to the Minnesota Senate in 2016.

Investigators said Eichorn believed he was communicating with a 17-year-old girl. A detective posing as the minor arranged a meeting with him near the 8300 block of Normandale Avenue, where he was arrested.

"As a 40-year-old man, if you come to the Orange Jumpsuit District looking to have sex with someone’s child, you can expect that we are going to lock you up," Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges said.

"I have always advocated stiffer penalties for these types of offenses. The recent case involving Michael Gillis who was arrested in Bloomington is a prime example of why we need stronger penalties. We need our state legislature to take this case and this type of conduct more seriously."

Minnesota Senate Republicans responded to his arrest with a statement calling for his immediate resignation.

"We are shocked by these reports, and this alleged conduct demands an immediate resignation," the statement read. "Justin has a difficult road ahead, and he needs to focus on his family."

Speaking for the Minnesota Democratic Party, executive director Heidi Kraus Kaplan said: "No one who solicits children belongs anywhere near public office or the State Capitol."

"The facts presented by the Bloomington Police Department make it clear that Senator Eichorn is an immediate danger to the public and must resign immediately," Kaplan added.