March 26, 2025: ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A former Minnesota state senator charged with trying to solicit a minor for prostitution and accused of attempting to obstruct the FBI’s investigation from jail can be released to a halfway house pending trial, a judge ruled Wednesday (March 26, 2025). U.S . Magistrate Judge Shannon Elkins ruled that Justin Eichorn, a Republican, does not pose a risk to the community and that there were reasonable explanations for actions that federal prosecutors argued warranted keeping him in jail. But she ruled there was sufficient evidence to take the case to trial. He did not enter a plea Wednesday. The 40-year-old from Grand Rapids was arrested in Bloomington on March 17 after exchanging text messages with an undercover officer who posed as a 17-year-old girl and arranging a meet-up for sex for money, the charging documents say. He was charged with attempted enticement of a minor to engage in prostitution, a felony that carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years, and resigned from the Senate March 20. On Sunday, federal prosecutors moved to prevent his scheduled release to the halfway house on Tuesday. They leveled detailed allegations that he tried to arrange by phone from jail for a “close, known associate” — identified by prosecutors as Individual A — to retrieve a computer and other items from the St. Paul apartment where he lived alone during legislative sessions. They argued that she could have concealed and destroyed evidence in the apartment. Defense attorney Charles Hawkins revealed in court Wednesday that Individual A is Eichorn’s wife. He suggested through his questioning of an FBI agent leading the investigation that she needed the computer because it contains records related to their apartment rental business, not to destroy evidence. The Eichorns have four children. His wife filed for divorce Monday. When she arrived at his apartment last Friday morning, FBI agents were already there. They declined her request to retrieve a computer that she said was used for her business. A few moments after she left, an agent called her and asked her to return for an interview. She refused. During their search of the apartment, agents found a bag on the counter containing $1,000 in cash; a 9 mm handgun and ammunition; a laptop; a computer memory card; an iPhone; and several of Eichorn’s Senate business cards. They said the iPhone appeared to have been reset to its factory settings, which can erase all content on the device. FBI Special Agent Matthew Vogel conceded Wednesday that the phone appeared to have been reset Feb. 28 — well before Eichorn began communicating with the undercover officers — but said they were still studying it. Vogel also acknowledged that the defense had provided a password for the computer. He said agents had been able to access some information but that they were still working to unlock some encrypted data. Federal prosecutors Daniel Bobier argued that Eichorn lied when he told a pretrial services officer he had no firearms in his apartment. But Hawkins argued that Eichorn misunderstood the officer because of the noise in the holding area. He argued that Eichorn had the gun because he was getting threats for cosponsoring a bill that would have designated “Trump derangement syndrome” as a mental illness. Hawkins declined further comment after the hearing, except to say he was planning to personally drive Eichorn to the halfway house in Duluth. Gov. Tim Walz on Tuesday called a special election for Tuesday, April 29, to fill the empty seat, in time to seat a new senator for the final weeks of the legislative session. Primaries will be Tuesday, April 15. The district, which stretches from Brainerd to Grand Rapids in northern Minnesota, is heavily Republican. Regardless of the outcome, Senate Democrats will continue to hold a narrow majority.   March 25, 2025: ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A judge on Monday (March 24, 2025) blocked the release of a former Minnesota state senator charged with soliciting a minor, after prosecutors leveled fresh allegations that he tried to obstruct the FBI’s investigation from jail. U.S. Magistrate Judge Shannon Elkins ruled that Justin Eichorn should remain jailed instead of being released to a halfway house on Tuesday as previously scheduled. A pretrial hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, when the issue will be addressed again. Eichorn’s attorneys didn’t respond to voicemails and emails from The Associated Press on Monday. Eichorn has not publicly commented since his arrest during a sting operation in Bloomington last Monday. The 40-year-old former Republican lawmaker from Grand Rapids resigned after he was charged with attempted coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in prostitution, a felony that carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years. In their motion to keep Eichorn in jail, prosecutors said they had learned that the former senator had arranged with a Grand Rapids woman — identified only as Individual A but described as a close associate — to retrieve a computer and other items from the St. Paul apartment where he lived alone during legislative sessions. Prosecutors said both Eichorn and the woman had been warned that his calls from jail were not private and would be recorded. According to Eichorn’s profile, which was removed from the Senate website last week, he is married with four children. But Itasca County court records show that his wife filed for divorce Monday. “Eichorn’s conduct evidences a willingness to conceal material facts from the Court and to do so at the expense of public safety,” prosecutors wrote. They said “even more concerning … is the possibility that Eichorn lied” in order to get his apartment cleared out before law enforcement could get there. By the time the woman got to the apartment Friday morning, FBI agents had already secured it with a warrant to search for evidence in the case against Eichorn, prosecutors said in the motion. Agents declined the woman’s request to retrieve a computer that she said was used for her business. A few moments after she left, an agent called her and asked her to return for an interview. She refused. During their search, agents found a bag on the counter containing $1,000 in cash; a handgun and ammunition; a laptop computer; an SD memory card; an iPhone and several of Eichorn’s Senate business cards, prosecutors said. They said the iPhone appeared to have been reset to its factory settings, which can erase all content on the device. While they said the phone might have been reset before Eichorn’s arrest, the timing hasn’t been confirmed yet. One of the conditions for Eichorn’s release to a halfway house was that he not possess firearms. Prosecutors allege he deliberately lied when he told a pretrial services officer after his first court appearance last Thursday that he had no firearms in his apartment. Prosecutors also argued that Eichorn should remain jailed because the text messages he had exchanged with an undercover officer posing as a 17-year-old girl before his arrest demonstrated his “clear familiarity with soliciting commercial sex from minors.” When officers arrested him, they seized two cellphones, an unopened condom and $129 in cash. “Eichorn’s messages and conduct reveal an experienced operator,” prosecutors wrote. “His pretrial release brings with it a real risk that he would attempt to victimize other minors in the community.” Eichorn listed his profession as entrepreneur on his former profile and was first elected in 2016. He received national attention earlier this month as one of the sponsors of a not-very-serious bill that would have designated “Trump derangement syndrome” as a mental illness.   March 24, 2025: ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Federal prosecutors are trying to block the release of a former Minnesota state senator who resigned after he was charged with soliciting a minor for prostitution, leveling fresh allegations that he tried to obstruct the FBI’s investigation from jail and lied to court personnel when he said he didn’t have a gun at his apartment. Prosecutors asked the court in a filing Sunday (March 23, 2025) for a quick ruling that Justin Eichorn be kept in jail instead of released to a halfway house as scheduled on Tuesday. Eichorn’s new attorneys, whose hiring was first noted in a court filing Sunday, did not immediately reply to voicemails and emails from The Associated Press seeking comment on Monday. The 40-year-old former Republican lawmaker from Grand Rapids has not publicly commented since his arrest during a sting operation in Bloomington last Monday. He was charged in federal court last Wednesday with attempted coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in prostitution, a felony that carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years. In their motion to reopen a detention hearing that was held Thursday, prosecutors said they learned afterward that he had several phone calls in jail with a Grand Rapids woman — identified only as Individual A but described as a close associate — and arranged with her to retrieve a computer and other items from the St. Paul apartment where he lived alone during legislative sessions. They said both had been warned that the call was not private and would be recorded. According to Eichorn’s profile, which was removed from the Senate website last week, he is married with four children. “Eichorn’s conduct evidences a willingness to conceal material facts from the Court and to do so at the expense of public safety,” prosecutors wrote. “Even more concerning, given his and Individual A’s prompt attempt to clear out the St. Paul apartment, is the possibility that Eichorn lied because he thought his associate could clear out the apartment before pretrial services or law enforcement could get there.” By the time the woman got to his apartment around 9:50 a.m. Friday, the motion said, FBI agents had already secured the unit in preparation for a search. She asked them whether she could go in to retrieve a computer that she said was used for her business. The agents declined and she left. An agent called her a few minutes later and asked her to return for an interview. She declined. The search warrant, according to the filing, authorized the FBI to look for evidence related to the enticement of a minor charge, as well as evidence of actual or attempted production, receipt, distribution or possession of child sexual abuse images. During the search, agents found a red computer-type bag on the counter that contained $1,000 in cash, a handgun and ammunition, a laptop computer, an SD memory card, an iPhone and several of Eichorn’s Senate business cards, prosecutors said. They added that the iPhone appeared to have been reset to its factory settings, which can erase all content on the device. While an initial forensic analysis suggested that the phone may have been reset before Eichorn’s arrest, they said, the analysis isn’t complete and the timing of the reset hasn’t been confirmed. One of the conditions for Eichorn’s release to a halfway house was that he not possess firearms. But prosecutors allege he deliberately lied when he told a pretrial services officer after his first court appearance last Thursday that he had no firearm in his apartment. Prosecutors also argued that Eichorn should remain jailed because the text messages that he exchanged leading up to his arrest with an undercover officer who purported to be a 17-year-old girl demonstrated his “clear familiarity with soliciting commercial sex from minors,” saying they “depict someone who knows the lingo of the trade.” When officers arrested him, they seized two cellphones found in his truck, an unopened condom and $129 in cash. “Eichorn’s messages and conduct reveal an experienced operator,” they wrote. “His pretrial release brings with it a real risk that he would attempt to victimize other minors in the community.” Eichorn listed his profession as entrepreneur on his former profile and was first elected in 2016. He got some national attention earlier this month as one sponsor of a not-very-serious bill that would have designated “Trump derangement syndrome” as a mental illness.   March 19, 2025: ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A Minnesota state senator who was caught in a sting operation was charged with soliciting a minor for prostitution Wednesday (March 19, 2025), a day after his fellow Republicans called on him to resign. GOP Sen. Justin Eichorn, 40, of Grand Rapids, was arrested in Bloomington on Monday in an undercover operation targeting commercial sex involving juveniles. Investigators had placed multiple ads online offering sex for money, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Court documents indicate Eichorn started sending messages in response to the ads March 11. “I saw your post and (sic) chance you are still available tonight?” one asked, according to an FBI affidavit, while a later message asked, “What’s a guy gota do to get with the hottest girl online tonight.” Eichorn exchanged messages with an undercover officer posing as a 17-year-old girl over several days, asking about pricing for various sex acts and requesting a picture, the affidavit said. They arranged a meet-up on Monday, where he arrived to find police ready to arrest him. Officers seized two cellphones, a condom and $129 in cash, it said. The federal charge is attempted coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in prostitution. Six other suspects were arrested in the sting, prosecutors said. Eichorn remained in the Hennepin County Jail on Wednesday. Federal and state court records do not list an attorney who can comment on his behalf, and the jail doesn’t allow phone calls to inmates. The county attorney’s office said a state charge of soliciting a minor for prostitution would be dropped and Eichorn’s case would proceed in federal court. It wasn’t immediately clear when he might be transferred to federal custody. The county attorney’s office and the U.S. attorney’s office have not explained why federal authorities took over the case. According to Eichorn’s Senate profile, he is married with four children. He lists his profession as entrepreneur and was first elected in 2016. Senate and House Republicans demanded Tuesday that Eichorn resign immediately. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office has no tolerance for public officials who violate federal law — particularly those laws meant to protect children,” Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa D. Kirkpatrick said in a statement. “The actions alleged in this case are an appalling attempt to exploit an innocent and vulnerable minor,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Alvin M. Winston Sr. said in the same statement. “The FBI and our partners are committed to protecting children from predators who seek to harm them. Every child deserves to grow up in a safe environment, free from the threat of exploitation.”   March 18, 2025: ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Fellow Republicans called Tuesday (March 18, 2025) on a Minnesota state senator to resign after police in suburban Bloomington arrested him for allegedly soliciting a minor for prostitution. GOP Sen. Justin Eichorn, 40, of Grand Rapids, was arrested Monday after detectives communicated with a man who was led to believe that he was talking to a 16-year-old girl, the department said in a news release. A detective arranged to meet with him, and he was arrested outside his vehicle without incident. He remained jailed in Bloomington on Tuesday afternoon pending his transfer to the Hennepin County Jail in Minneapolis, Deputy Chief Kim Clauson said. She said she did not know if he had a lawyer who could speak on his behalf or if he had spoken with an investigator. Jail staff would not take a message for him. The department said a felony charge of soliciting a minor for prostitution was pending, but the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office said it had not yet received the case. A message left at Eichorn’s Senate office was not immediately returned. According to his Senate profile, he’s married with four children. He lists his profession as entrepreneur and was first elected in 2016. His chair on an environment commmittee sat empty during a Tuesday hearing. Senate Republicans as a group called on Eichorn to step down, as did House Republicans. “We are shocked by these reports, and this alleged conduct demands an immediate resignation,” his Senate GOP colleagues said in a statement. “Justin has a difficult road ahead, and he needs to focus on his family.” Senate Democratic leaders stopped short of calling for him to quit. They have also stood up for Democratic Sen. Nicole Mitchell, of Woodbury, who was arrested last spring on a felony charge for allegedly burglarizing her estranged stepmother’s home. Senate Democratic leaders have said she deserves to have the legal process play out first. “The felony allegation against Senator Eichorn is deeply disturbing, and raises serious questions that will need to be answered by the court, as well as his caucus and constituents,” Democratic Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy, of St. Paul, said in a statement that echoed what she has said about Mitchell. Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges leveled sharp criticism of Eichorn. “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,” Hodges said in a statement. “I have always advocated stiffer penalties for these types of offenses. … We need our state legislature to take this case and this type of conduct more seriously.” ...read more read less