GOP State Senator Arrested by Bloomington PD for Allegedly Soliciting a Child for Sex

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – A GOP State Senator for Minnesota’s 6th District was arrested for allegedly soliciting a minor for prostitution, Bloomington Police say.

Tuesday, Bloomington Police announced they had arrested Justin David Eichorn, the Republican state Senator from Grand Rapids who represents District 6, for pending charges of soliciting a minor for prostitution.

A press release by the department said detectives had been communicating with Eichorn while posing as a 17-year-old girl. A press release by the department said, “On March 17, a detective arranged to meet with the male at a location near the 8300 block of Normandale Avenue in Bloomington.”

Police said they observed Eichorn driving a pick-up in that area, and uniformed officers arrested him without incident. 

Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges in a statement following the arrest 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.” The Chief also called on the State Legislature to support “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.”

Gillis was arrested last week for allegedly raping a 15-year-old girl at his home in Eden Prairie. At the time, he had been out on bail for soliciting minors for sex in Florida and Minnesota.

Both the Minnesota DFL and GOP called for Eichorn’s resignation in separate statements released earlier today.

DFL 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.”

The GOP Senate Caucus’ statement read, “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.”

On the same day Eichorn was arrested, he joined four other Republican Senators to introduce Senate File No. 2589. The proposed bill would call for “modifying the definition of mental illness; adding a definition for Trump Derangement Syndrome.”

The “syndrome” is defined in the bill as “the acute onset of paranoia in otherwise normal persons that is in reaction to the policies and presidencies of President Donald J. Trump.” According to the bill, “verbal expressions of intense hostility,” or “overt acts of aggression and violence” against the President or his supporters.

Senate File No. 2589 was referred to the Health and Human Services Committee for first reading. You can view the full bill here. here.