Minnesota Republicans called on GOP state Sen. Justin Eichorn to resign after he was arrested for allegedly soliciting a teenage minor for prostitution.
Eichorn allegedly set out on Monday to meet up with someone he thought was a 16-year-old girl. Instead, he was met by a detective and was promptly detained by law enforcement, according to the Bloomington Police Department.
His colleagues reacted with horror.
“We are shocked by these reports and this alleged conduct demands an immediate resignation,” Minnesota senate Republicans wrote in a statement Tuesday. “Justin has a difficult road ahead and he needs to focus on his family.”
The state’s House Republicans responded with similar calls for Eichorn’s immediate resignation.
“Given the seriousness of the charges, Senator Eichorn should resign. While he is entitled to due process, we must hold legislators to a higher standard,” state House speaker Lisa Demuth and majority leader Harry Niska said in a joint statement, per the Minnesota Star Tribune.
According to his official Senate biography, Eichorn is married with four children. The Washington Examiner contacted his office for comment.
He most recently gained national attention for proposing legislation to designate “Trump derangement syndrome” as a legitimate mental illness. The bill would define the syndrome as an “acute onset of paranoia in otherwise normal persons that is in reaction to the policies and presidencies of President Donald J. Trump.”
MINNESOTA GOP PROPOSES MAKING ‘TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME’ A MENTAL ILLNESS
Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges had harsh words for the lawmaker on Monday.
“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,” he said. “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.”