A Republican Minnesota state senator who was caught in a sting operation resigned beneath fireplace Thursday after he was charged with soliciting a minor for prostitution, stepping down earlier than the Senate may vote on whether or not to expel him.
Justin Eichorn, of Grand Rapids, submitted his resignation in a quick electronic mail to Gov. Tim Walz, saying: “I must focus on personal matters at this time. It has been an honor to serve in the Minnesota Senate.”
His former colleagues expressed reduction.
“Decisive action needed to take place, and we did not want this to cloud up the issues of the budget going forward, and the things that Minnesotans really need,” Senate Minority Chief Mark Johnson, of East Grand Forks, informed reporters. “So we want to take care of this quickly and be done with this.”
Eichorn, 40, has been jailed since his arrest in Bloomington on Monday in an undercover operation concentrating on industrial intercourse involving juveniles.
At Eichorn’s first court docket look Thursday, Justice of the Peace Choose Shannon Elkins ordered his launch to a midway home with GPS monitoring as soon as an area opens up.
She ordered him to don’t have any unsupervised contact with minors and solely restricted, monitored entry to computer systems and the web. He didn’t enter a plea. His subsequent court docket look is ready for Wednesday.
Federal defender Aaron Morrison, who represented Eichorn just for the needs of Thursday’s temporary listening to, informed the court docket that Eichorn was nonetheless within the strategy of hiring a non-public lawyer. Morrison declined to take questions afterward.
The nameplate on Eichorn’s desk within the Senate chamber was eliminated earlier than Thursday’s ground session. Afterward, Johnson mentioned the cost was “so severe” and the charging paperwork so “very damning” that his members agreed unanimously that the uncommon step of expulsion was justified and so they had been ready to vote him out.
“This would’ve been a cloud hanging over the Senate. We don’t need another one of those,” he mentioned. “So now we’re able to get back to work.”
Investigators had positioned a number of adverts on-line providing intercourse for cash, in response to the charging paperwork. Eichorn exchanged textual content messages with an undercover officer purporting to be a 17-year-old lady for a number of days till they organized a meet-up, the place he was arrested.
“I saw your post and (sic) chance you are still available tonight?” one requested, in response to an FBI affidavit, whereas a later message requested, “What’s a guy gota do to get with the hottest girl online tonight.”
After his arrest, officers seized two cellphones, a condom and $129 in money.
The federal cost is tried coercion and enticement of a minor to have interaction in prostitution. Six different suspects had been arrested within the sting, prosecutors mentioned.
Federal prosecutor LeeAnn Bell declined after Thursday’s listening to to say why federal authorities had taken over the case from the county prosecutor.
In keeping with Eichorn’s profile, which has now been faraway from the Senate web site, he’s married with 4 kids.
He listed his career as entrepreneur and was first elected in 2016. He acquired some nationwide consideration earlier this month as one sponsor of a not-very-serious invoice that might have designated “Trump derangement syndrome” as a psychological sickness.
The governor, who had been among the many many Democrats who additionally referred to as for Eichorn’s resignation, must name a particular session to fill the empty seat. Till then, Senate Democrats may have a two-seat majority.
The northern Minnesota district voted closely for President Donald Trump within the November election.
Senate Democrats have come beneath GOP fireplace for safeguarding Democratic Sen. Nicole Mitchell, of Woodbury, who was arrested final spring on a felony cost for allegedly burglarizing her estranged stepmother’s house.
Democratic leaders, who’ve resisted GOP efforts to pressure her out, say she deserves to have the authorized course of play out first. Mitchell was absent from Thursday’s ground session the place the vote to expel Eichorn would have taken place.
Senate Majority Chief Erin Murphy, of St. Paul, mentioned she was glad that Eichorn resigned, however drew a distinction between his case and Mitchell’s. She mentioned letting him return would have put interns and different Senate workers in danger.
“It is hard to conceive of a way that Mr. Eichorn could have returned to this Capitol to operate in any way other than putting others at risk,” Murphy informed reporters.
“It is a night and day situation, and they’re not comparable.”
