Minnesota Lawmaker Resigns After Shocking Charge: Soliciting a Minor

The Hill reported that Minnesota state senator Justin Eichorn resigned after being charged with solicitation. He stepped down as lawmakers were preparing to expel him.

Eichorn sent his resignation to Governor Tim Walz via email. Tom Bottern, Senate Secretary, read out his resignation on the Senate floor.

The Minnesota Star Tribune reported that Eichorn had written, “I must now focus on my personal affairs, it has been a privilege to serve as a Minnesota Senator.”

Eichorn was arrested Monday in a sting operation conducted by the Bloomington Police Department.

According to the charges, investigators placed several ads on websites offering sex in exchange for money. Eichorn sent text messages to an undercover police officer pretending to be a girl aged 17 for several days before they met up and he was arrested.

I saw your post, any chance that you’re still available tonight? According to an FBI affidavit, one message asked “What can a guy do to meet the hottest girl online tonight?”

The federal charge is attempting to coerce and entice a minor into prostitution. Prosecutors said that six other suspects had been arrested during the sting.

On Wednesday, he was charged in U.S. District Court.

Eichorn has been in jail since Monday, when he was arrested in Bloomington, Indiana, in an undercover operation aimed at commercial sex with juveniles.

Eichorn appeared in court for the first time on Thursday. Magistrate Shannon Elkins released him to a halfway home with GPS tracking once there was a place available. She also ordered that he not have any unsupervised contact or access to minors. He did not enter any plea. His next court date is Wednesday.

After the charges were revealed, there was a bipartisan call for Eichorn to resign. Lawmakers are preparing to vote in what would be the first expulsion of modern Minnesota’s history.

According to The Minnesota Star Tribune, Republican Mark Johnson is the state Senate Minority leader.

“I think if you are charged with a felony that is serious enough. Our law defines that as a serious crime. We are all in agreement that this is a serious crime. As a caucus, we will act decisively and do what’s right.”

Eichorn is married and has four children, according to his profile on the Senate’s website. He stated that he was an entrepreneur, and he was elected for the first time in 2016. He received some national attention this month for being one of the sponsors of a bill to designate “Trump Derangement Syndrome” as a form of mental illness.

The governor, who had been among the many Democrats who also called for Eichorn’s resignation, will have to call a special session to fill the empty seat. Until then, Senate Democrats will have a two-seat majority. The northern Minnesota district voted heavily for President Donald Trump in the November election.