Minnesota Sen. Justin Eichorn resigned from the state Senate on Thursday in the wake of a federal criminal charge accusing him of soliciting sex from someone he thought was 17, but turned out to be an undercover cop.
The move comes after Eichorn’s colleagues in the Republican caucus said they would vote to expel him from the chamber if he did not step down. Democrats were prepared to join them to clear the two-thirds majority hurdle needed for expulsion.
Eichorn, a Republican from Grand Rapids, is charged with attempted coercion or enticement of a minor. Prosecutors said he answered an online ad that was part of an operation targeting sex trafficking by Bloomington police and other law enforcement.
Eichorn has not made any public statement since the arrest but sent a brief letter signed by him to Gov. Tim Walz and legislative leaders announcing his plan to leave office. He appeared in court for the first time on Thursday afternoon.
“I am resigning my seat in the Minnesota Senate for District 6 effective immediately,” he wrote. “I must focus on personal matters at this time. It has been an honor to serve in the Minnesota Senate.”
The fallout at the state capitol was swift following his arrest. Senate Republicans called on him to resign, as did other lawmakers across party lines in both chambers. The GOP caucus reiterated that call on Wednesday afternoon.
Later that day, Johnson said they would bring forward a motion to remove him Thursday morning during the floor session. That is now moot since he submitted his resignation letter.
“The charges that he’s been accused of are so severe, and the transcript, based on the reports, are very damning. And so even though that has not been done, the expulsion has not been done on the floor before, we felt that the charges warranted that,” Johnson told reporters Thursday.
The Senate DFL caucus joined Republicans calling for him to step aside, calling the details of the felony allegations “horrifying.” They would’ve voted to expel him, too, they said. If they had, it would’ve been a historic event in the Minnesota Legislature. While there have been motions to expel members before, none of them have ever passed, according to the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library, which notes that its archive doesn’t include all records dating back to statehood. But researchers have never found evidence that it’s happened before.
“The safety of the interns who come here to work and learn, the safety and security of the staff who put their days in here were incompatible with the predatory nature of Mr. Eichorn’s behavior as reported in the criminal complaint,” said Sen. Erin Murphy, DFL-Saint Paul.
The Senate GOP has previously tried to expel Sen. Nicole Mitchell, DFL-Woodbury, who is charged with felony burglary in state court for allegedly breaking into her stepmother’s home last April. She has pleaded not guilty and will stand trial in June and she has resisted calls to step aside from Republicans and some in her own party. Those efforts didn’t advance to a final vote due to procedural setbacks.
When asked by reporters why Murphy isn’t pushing for Mitchell to step down, Murphy replied, “The difference between the dispute with Senator Mitchell and this is night and day.”
According to court documents, Eichorn texted the number posted and inquired about the sex acts and the cost. Days after initial contact, police arrested him Monday during an arranged meeting between Eichorn and the purported teenager, during which officers found $130 cash and a condom in his car.
The criminal complaint said Eichorn in one text exchange was alerted of the person’s age and replied, “It’s [sic] says age of consent is 16.”
With Eichorn’s resignation, the balance of power in the chamber remains unchanged — Democrats will still have their one-seat majority.
Walz will have to call a special election to fill the vacancy.
Eichorn makes 1st court appearance
The 40-year-old Eichorn appeared before a judge for the first time Thursday afternoon.
The now-former state senator didn’t say much in his first public appearance, but he didn’t have to. The judge read him his Miranda rights and then read him a lengthy list of the conditions of his release once a spot in a halfway house becomes available. He’ll have GPS monitoring and be forbidden from contact with anyone under 18 and barred from computer access.
Besides the high-profile suspect, this a unique case — a local investigation that at first brought state charges, but then the federal government got involved and took over.
Legal analysts WCCO spoke with said that’s more than just a symbolic choice. If convicted, Eichorn is likely to be sentenced to federal prison.
“There’s a huge difference in penalties. In state court, a person would rarely ever go to prison on a child solicitation. The only times you would ever see that happen is if the person has a very bad criminal history,” criminal defense attorney Joe Tamburino said. “But normally there’s not a prison sentence, whereas in federal court there would be a prison sentence in many situations the mandatory minimum of 10 years would apply.”
The state has dropped the charges now that the feds have taken over the case. Eichorn will be back in court next week for a preliminary hearing.
