Republican Minnesota state senator arrested for attempting to meet with underage prostitute

Justin Eichorn, a Republican state senator from Minnesota, was arrested for allegedly attempting to meet with a 17-year-old prostitute for sex. An action that constitutes a felony and is prompting calls for resignation from his own party.

According to local authorities, the 40-year-old state lawmaker actually was in conversation with a detective from the Bloomington Police Department in Minnesota, who was conducting an undercover assignment and posing as a 17-year-old girl when Eichorn arranged the meeting for Monday.

According to authorities, Eichorn arrived in a van at the business district in Bloomington, a suburb of Minneapolis, on Monday after arranging a sexual encounter with the agent.

Police reported that the state senator was arrested without incident and subsequently transferred to a local jail. Now, the District Attorney's Office must receive the evidence and decide whether to file formal charges.

Eichorn, who throughout his political career has boasted of being married with four children, was arrested after filing a bill where he proposed labeling "Trump derangement syndrome" as a mental illness.

Local experts agreed that the bill, which defines this colloquial term as the "acute onset of paranoia in otherwise normal persons that is in reaction to the policies and presidencies of President Donald J. Trump," had little chance of passing and was noted as a demagogic political strategy to bolster his support within the Republican base.

Eichorn's arrest makes two Minnesota state senators who have affected their parties by committing alleged serious offenses. The first was Democrat Nicole Mitchell, who is set to go to trial in the coming months on burglary charges. The senator pleaded not guilty.

Democrats have a slim one-seat advantage in the state Senate.

Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges spoke about the case, predicting a complex future for the state senator: "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."

According to the New York Times, authorities recommended that Eichorn be charged with one count of solicitation of prostitution of a person under 18, a felony punishable by up to five years in prison.

After the case was revealed, the Senate Republican Caucus called for Eichorn's resignation Tuesday.

"We are shocked by these reports and this alleged conduct demands an immediate resignation," the caucus said in a statement. "Justin has a difficult road ahead and he needs to focus on his family."

Other Republicans also called for Eichorn's resignation.

"Resign in disgrace," Republican Rep. Elliott Engen tweeted in response to news of the arrest. "Prosecute to the fullest. Throw away the key."