On Monday, a Minnesota State Senator made headlines as he introduced a bill to label “Trump Derangement Syndrome” as a mental illness.
Hours later, he was arrested.
Senator Justin Eichorn was arrested Monday night around 6 p.m. for allegedly soliciting a minor for prostitution, according to a statement from the Bloomington Police Department. Detectives were in contact with Eichorn, who believed “he was talking to a 17-year-old female.” They then arranged a meetup for Monday evening, during which he was arrested “without incident.”
Charges are now pending against the Republican politician, who, hours before he was arrested, was part of a group that introduced a bill to label ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome’ as a mental illness. (Minnesota Senate)
He is now in custody at the Bloomington Police Department jail.
“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. “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.”
Eichorn has not been charged with a crime as of Tuesday afternoon. The Bloomington Police Department said in a statement that felony charges of soliciting an under-18-year-old to practice prostitution are pending.
However, the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office told The Independent that “Bloomington Police have not submitted a case to us for charging consideration.”
Meanwhile, Minnesota Senate Republicans released a joint statement calling for Eichorn’s resignation, Fox 9 reports.
“We are shocked by these reports and this alleged conduct demands an immediate resignation,” the group said. “Justin has a difficult road ahead and he needs to focus on his family.”
The Independent has contacted Eichorn’s office for comment.
Earlier that day, Eichorn and four other Minnesota Republican senators proposed legislation to the Health and Human Services committee that would label “Trump Derangement Syndrome” as a mental illness.
Their bill describes the faux “syndrome” as the “acute onset of paranoia in otherwise normal persons that is in reaction to the policies and presidencies of President Donald J. Trump.”
They claim symptoms include “Trump-induced general hysteria,” where a person struggles to distinguish between “legitimate policy” and “psychic pathology,” which is expressed with verbal hostility or acts of aggression against Trump and his MAGA supporters.
The bill is unlikely to be approved with Democrat-aligned parties having a one-seat advantage in the state senate.
Eichorn, 40, is married and a father to four children.
With reporting from James Liddell.
