Embattled Republican State Senator Justin Eichorn (Grand Rapids) has resigned his Senate seat effective Thursday.
This comes as Eichorn makes his first court appearance in Hennepin County Thursday afternoon on prostitution charges. Hennepin County prosecutors charged Eichorn with one count of prostitution for allegedly agreeing to hire someone under 18 but older than 16 for sex.
He is also facing federal charges of coercion and enticement of a minor after being arrested in Bloomington this week for arranging to meet with a detective posing as an underage teenage girl.
According to the criminal complaint, on March 12, 2025, Bloomington Police detectives began an undercover operation to target commercial sex involving juveniles. Law enforcement placed online advertisements offering commercial sex. Unbeknownst to the prospective sex buyers, it was in fact undercover law enforcement officers who received and responded to the messages.
Republican Party leaders were unanimous in their calls for Eichorn to resign, and had planned to expel him as a member Thursday if he didn't resign on his own.
“This is the right thing to do for his family and the Senate,” Senate Republican Leader Mark Johnson (East Grand Forks) said. “We are ready to move on and do the important work that needs to be done at the Capitol.”