Ex-Minnesota senator charged with soliciting teen accused of lying about gun, concealing evidence
Federal investigators are revealing new information about the former state senator accused of soliciting a teenage girl for sex, including his alleged attempts to cover up his tracks.
Republican Justin Eichorn of Grand Rapids resigned from the Minnesota Senate last week after being charged with attempted coercion or enticement of a minor. Prosecutors allege he responded to an online prostitution ad that was part of a sting, arranging to meet and have sex with someone he thought was a 17-year-old girl.
At his first court appearance last week, Eichorn told a judge he didn't have a firearm at the residence, but newly filed court documents show FBI agents recovered a handgun and ammunition, in addition to a laptop, phone and $1,000 cash, in his St. Paul apartment.
Federal prosecutors also described while authorities searched the apartment, a person showed up and asked to retrieve a computer from inside. She was denied and left. Later, she declined to be interviewed by the FBI. Eichorn and this person had communicated multiple times via jail phone calls, the motion states. During one such call, Eichorn advised her "this is not like uh, a secure line, so just basic stuff," according to the motion. The two discussed phones and a computer during those calls, and she told Eichorn during one that she would "grab whatever you need me to grab," transcripts show.
During that search, authorities also found an iPhone that had been reset to factory default settings, "which can cause all content on the phone to [be] erased," prosecutors said. The phone was found inside the same bag as the laptop, which was the only computer found during the search.
"Eichorn's post-arrest conduct, including his lie to pretrial services concerning his possession of a gun, make clear that he does not intend to be truthful or to respect legal process," prosecutors said. "Instead, his conduct strongly suggests a willingness — and actual steps taken — to frustrate the ongoing child-sex investigation into his conduct."
Prosecutors also argued in the motion that a pretrial release for Eichorn "brings with it a real risk that he would attempt to victim other minors in the community."
Eichorn remains in custody, though he is set to be released to a halfway house as early as Tuesday.
Though Gov. Tim Walz has not yet called a special election for Eichorn's seat, multiple candidates have already announced their intentions to run.
Eichorn among 14 arrested in wider Bloomington PD operation
Also on Monday, Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges released new details about the wider operation that led to Eichorn's arrest.
"Operation I Can't Help Myself" began in early March, Hodges explained, and resulted in the arrest of 13 other men who allegedly wanted to have sex with minors.
"I don't give a crap what occupation you have," Hodges declared. "If you come here and mess with kids, you're going to jail. For me, it's always going to be about victims."
The men arrested ranged in age from 23 to 59. Hodges added that many traveled to Bloomington from across Minnesota and Wisconsin.
"In Bloomington we [have] 50 hotels and 10,000 hotel rooms. We have more hotel rooms than anywhere in the state. We have the airport here," he said. "But I think also for us, in this I-494 corridor here, we're just not going to tolerate this, and at the end of the day it's about victims."
