GOP calls for Sen. Justin Eichorn to resign after arrest on suspicion of soliciting teen for sex

Minnesota state Sen. Justin Eichorn allegedly arranged to meet someone in Bloomington he thought was a teenage girl for sex and instead was arrested by police, officials announced Tuesday.

After Eichorn’s arrest Monday, the Senate Republican Caucus said in a statement, “We are shocked by these reports, and this alleged conduct demands an immediate resignation. Justin has a difficult road ahead, and he needs to focus on his family.”

In the House, Speaker Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, and Leader Harry Niska, R-Ramsey, said in a joint statement: “Given the seriousness of the charges, Senator Eichorn should resign. While he is entitled to due process, we must hold legislators to a higher standard.”

Eichorn, R-Grand Rapids, remains jailed Tuesday afternoon on suspicion of soliciting a minor for sex. Charges against him are pending.

Messages were left with Eichorn’s office seeking comment about the arrest.

Eichorn talked with someone he believed was a 16-year-old girl but turned out to be a detective, according to police.

The detective arranged to meet with Eichorn at a location near the 8300 block of Normandale Avenue, not far from various public parks and hotels. Eichorn arrived in a pickup truck and was arrested about 5:45 p.m. without incident outside of his vehicle by a uniformed police officer, according to authorities.

Police Chief Booker Hodges, in his announcement of the arrest, invoked a jail analogy when he said, “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.”

State Rep. Elliott Engen, R-White Bear Township, said on X: “Resign in disgrace. Prosecute to the fullest. Throw away the key.”

Reaction from across the political aisle to Eichorn’s arrest also was swift.

“No one who solicits children belongs anywhere near public office or the State Capitol,” said Minnesota DFL executive director Heidi Kraus Kaplan. “The facts presented by [police] make it clear that Senator Eichorn is an immediate danger to the public and must resign immediately.”

“The felony allegation against Senator Eichorn is deeply disturbing, and raises serious questions that will need to be answered by the court, as well as his caucus and constituents,” read a statement from Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy, DFL-St. Paul.

Should he be prosecuted, Eichorn would be the second Minnesota lawmaker to face felony charges this session. Sen. Nicole Mitchell, DFL-Woodbury, is charged with two felonies in connection with breaking into her late father’s Detroit Lakes home. She has pleaded not guilty to first-degree burglary and possession of burglary or theft tools.

Republicans in the Senate have filed ethics complaints tied to the alleged burglary and to Mitchell’s vote in January on a motion connected to a GOP effort to expel her. That effort failed to gain traction in the Senate Subcommittee on Ethical Conduct last week.

The DFL holds a slim majority in the Senate with 34 seats to the GOP’s 33.

One of Eichorn’s most recent official legislative acts was being among five Senate Republicans who are seeking to classify “Trump derangement syndrome” (TDS), a term coined to describe a form of criticism of President Donald Trump, as an official mental illness recognized under state statute.

Eichorn joined the Senate first representing the Fifth District starting in 2017, then currently the Sixth District following redistricting. In 2022, he easily won re-election over DFLer Steve Samuelson.

According to the 40-year-old legislator’s biography page, Eichorn is married with four children. He lists his occupation as an entrepreneur and business manager.

The Minnesota Senate Republican Caucus says on its website that he is the third generation working at his family’s outdoors store in Grand Rapids.

Some former GOP lawmakers also quickly called for Eichorn to resign or be expelled on Tuesday.

“Zero tolerance for this sick behavior!! Resign immediately,” former GOP state Rep. Kelly Fenton posted on X. “Republicans have opportunity to show leadership and push him out immediately. I’d hate for him to stay as long as the alleged “cat burglar” Democrat senator!”

Former GOP state Rep. Pat Garofalo called for the Senate to get rid of both Eichorn and Mitchell.

“There is no due process in politics,” Garofalo posted on X. “This is an opportunity for the Minnesota Senate to do the right thing and temporarily reduce it’s membership by 2.”

Allison Kite and Ryan Faircloth of the Minnesota Star Tribune contributed to this report.