Minnesota Republican state senator Justin Eichorn was arrested on Tuesday after allegedly attempting to meet a person he believed to be a 17-year-old girl but was actually an undercover police officer.
Eichorn, 40, was taken into custody by Bloomington police and faces felony charges for soliciting a minor for prostitution. According to authorities, he engaged in conversations with an individual he thought was a teenage girl, only to discover he had been corresponding with law enforcement officers.
"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 in a statement.
Calls for Resignation
Following Eichorn’s arrest, the Minnesota Senate GOP urged him to resign, calling the allegations "shocking." In a statement, the caucus emphasized that he should "focus on his family." The Republican Party of Minnesota echoed this sentiment, citing the seriousness of the charges.
Eichorn, a married father of four, recently made headlines as one of the co-authors of a controversial bill that sought to classify “Trump Derangement Syndrome” as a mental illness. The term, commonly used by Trump supporters, suggests that critics of the former president exhibit irrational and obsessive behavior toward him.
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Controversial Legislation
The bill, introduced earlier this week, defines "Trump Derangement Syndrome" as a condition causing "the acute onset of paranoia in otherwise normal persons in reaction to the policies and presidencies of President Donald J. Trump." It claims symptoms include "intense hostility" toward Trump and "overt acts of aggression and violence" against his supporters or symbols.
The proposal received swift backlash. Minnesota Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy criticized it as "possibly the worst bill in Minnesota history," arguing that it either trivializes real mental health conditions or represents a dangerous attempt to suppress free speech.
Eichorn’s arrest has drawn further scrutiny to the bill and its sponsors, overshadowing the legislation with serious legal allegations. His future in the state Senate remains uncertain as calls for his resignation grow.