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Teary-eyed MAGA promoter Justin Eichorn after being caught in a teen prostitution sex sting.

Faster than you can say President Donald Trump has been convicted of 47 felonies for concealing hush money paid to adult porn star Stormy McDaniels, came the fall out across Minnesota last week as (former) District 6 GOP Senator Justin David Eichorn, age 40, married with four children, from Grand Rapids, resigned under a cloud of shame afrter being caught in a police sting while soliciting an underage minor for prostitution. 

The newly redistricted District 6 covers Cass, Crow Wing and Itasca Counties. 

Creative writers, bloggers, Tik-Tok-ers, You-Tubers and hordes of news agencies were abuzz with updates happening hourly and daily. Comedian Jimmy Kimmel was prepared for his live show by evening. Local, state, national, international correspondents reported sordid detail by detail as the salacious actions by Eichorn played out across the world wide web. 

One of the strongest commentaries came from a Washington DC blog page called: “Fear and Loathing: Closer to the Edge.” The editorial summarized with clarity and tone what played out on March 17, 2024, the day of Eichorn’s arrest.

"On March 17, 2025, five Minnesota Republicans staggered into the statehouse like a pack of half-bright jackals, grinning like they’d just cooked up something clever. Eric Lucero, Steve Drazkowski, Nathan Wesenberg, Glenn Gruenhagen and Justin Eichorn were not interested in improving Minnesota’s economy, helping families afford health care or tackling the opioid crisis. 

No, these five MAGA geniuses decided their best use of time was to introduce a bill (SF2589 -MN) declaring Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS) a recognized mental illness – a desperate, juvenile stunt designed to insult critics of Donald Trump.

The bill was trash. It described TDS as a condition marked by paranoia, social dysfunction and emotional instability. It claimed Trump’s critics were so consumed by rage they couldn’t distinguish between legitimate policy and psychic pathology. 

In short, these five clowns cooked up a fake disorder to gaslight anyone who dared to criticize their orange messiah. But karma works fast these days. 

By sundown the bill’s loudest cheer-leader, Senator Justin Eichorn was being marched into a Bloomington jail cell after allegedly soliciting a minor for prostitution. "

Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges sternly stated, “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.” 

Eichorn had engaged in multiple internet communications with a 17-year old female (a sex crimes task force undercover police detective). Familiar with hook-up lingo, for sale sex acts “Greek” and “Bare,” and abbreviations for length of time for pay – Eichorn arranged to meet the person at a hotel in Bloomington, where a round-up sting was awaiting him. 

Eichorn was arrested and transported to the Hennepin County Adult Detention Center, where he was booked for attempted coercion and enticement of a minor – later transferred to a halfway house. 

The Itasca County DFL office referred requests for comment to the MN DFL public release, which read in part, “No one who solicits children belongs anywhere near public office or the State Capitol,” said Minnesota DFL executive director Heidi Kraus Kaplan. “The facts presented by the Bloomington Police Department make it clear that Senator Eichorn is an immediate danger to the public and must resign immediately.”  

The Itasca County GOP office did not respond to a request for comment. The state GOP – Republican Party of Minnesota webpage has not been updated since Feb. 25. 

However, Eichorn’s colleagues in the Republican caucus said they would vote to expel him from the chamber if he did not step down. Democrats were prepared to join them to clear the two-thirds majority hurdle needed for expulsion. 

On March 20, knowing the Senate was organized to vote on his expulsion, the Grand Rapids resident submitted his letter of resignation. 

Justin Eichorn’s name plate was removed from chambers. His state charges moved forward to federal court for attempted coercion and enticement of a minor, a felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison. 
By Saturday, March 22, the Itasca GOP-Republican office had removed all Justin Eichorn-branded merch and signs from their headquarters. Eichorn had fallen.

Eichorn, co-author of bill SF 2589 ,had disgraced any childhood School House Rock memory of the favorite song, “I’m Just a Bill.” The 1976 song introduced young and old alike to the legal process for a bill becoming law as the cartoon character “Bill” sat on Capitol stairs awaiting to rise for approval. 
Meanwhile Eichorn’s co-sponsors on the reprehensible Trump Derangement Syndrome bill scrambled to provide an additional heave-ho for Eichorn, greasing the stairs for his disgrace. 

Lucero, Drazkowski, Wesenberg and Gruenhagen all released statements condemning their cohort and demanding his resignation with no acknowledgement of their united team behaviors on churlish bill that mocks mental illness. 

The Duluth News Tribune Editorial Board wrote: “His [Eichorn’s] arrest came one day after he and five other Republicans in the Minnesota Senate introduced a bill to classify ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome’ as a mental illness. The legislation, targeting the critics of President Donald Trump, came off as a political play that unacceptably belittled the very real mental health challenges facing hundreds of thousands of Minnesotans. Eichorn’s colleagues in the bill can withdraw the distasteful pursuit.”

Bryan Stenlund retired licensed psychologist from the Grand Rapids area said, “To become a verified mental health issue and diagnostic code requests must go through the American medical association, American psychiatric association, peer-reviewed research, and approval of American Psychological Association. These SF 2589 bill sponsors are fools, using this intimidation, abrogation of free speech, and as a round-up of dissenters processed as terrorists. Hitler’s playbook as usual.” 

Who is Justin Eichorn?
Justin David Eichorn was born in Itasca County in 1984, the oldest child of Mitchell and Debra Eichorn. His grandparents Howard and Elsie “Chris” Eichorn owned and operated Glen’s Army Navy Surplus store in Grand Rapids until the store was sold to their son Rusty. 

Howard and Chris hailed from Hill City, where Howard’s family owned the Eichorn Hardware Store. Howard purchased Glen’s in Grand Rapids (which originated in 1946) in 1974 after serving as store manager for many years. 

The senior Eichorns built their own Army Navy surplus store into one of the largest gun dealer distributors in the upper Midwest. Three of Howard and Chris’s children worked for the store, Mitchell, Lynda and Rusty. 

Justin’s father Mitchell and his mother Deb were avid estate and garage sale hunters. They eventually began purchasing rental properties and a laundry business. The young entrepreneurs built a magnificent mansion overlooking Pokegama Lake in Cohasset that was once listed on Sotheby’s for several million dollars. 

In 2006, Justin’s parents assisted him in the purchase of the old Swanson Chevrolet car dealership in Grand Rapids. From the Grand Rapids Herald Review Justin Eichorn said, “I always wanted to own a casino or a car dealership,” said Eichorn. “Since I can’t own a casino, this is the next best thing.” 

Eichorn said his prior business experience with Glen’s Army Navy and his new venture, Tidy Laundry, that he was confident that the dealership will continue to grow and serve the community under the mission to “exceed expectations every time.”

In 2007, controversy arrived at the doors of Justin Eichorn’s dealership when he refused to continue contracts with former dealership employees who were in the labor union. The labor dispute played out visually and vocally in the Grand Rapids labor-built community as three employees were dismissed from their jobs. 

The United Auto Workers staged a consistent picket outside of the dealership for months. In February 2008, Don Hilligoss of Ranger GM in Hibbing purchased Eichorn Motors. The damage had been done. Justin Eichorn’s reputation for not supporting fair contract labor cost him the dealership. He went back to assisting his father with property management and working for his grandparents at Glen’s Army Navy. 

In 2014, Eichorn was recruited to run for the Minnesota House of Representatives in District 5B but lost to Tom Anzelc – DFL. In 2016, as the tide turned to MAGA in Itasca County, Eichorn narrowly defeated Senator Tom Saxhaug – DFL in District 5B. Eichorn has served as a Minnesota State Senator from 2017 to his resignation in 2025.

Eichorn’s arrest and fallout prompted his uncle Rusty Eichorn, the sole proprietor of Glen’s Army Navy, to come out publicly asking for people to not call his business or harass his store employees about the scandal. 

Glen’s Army Navy [during election cycles] has displayed significantly-sized signs in support of Justin Eichorn for Senator. The store has also been used for photo props for Senator Eichorn and other GOP electeds regarding legislative issues that may pertain to guns, hunting and other sporting-related bills.

Senator Eichorn’s aunt, Lynda (Eichorn) Gillison in 2022 was cited with nine felonies for embezzling more than $200,000 while a bookkeeper for Glen’s Army Navy. Her brother terminated her from the business after their mother went into nursing care. 

Rusty Eichorn, who was once an Itasca County Commissioner, told WDIO TV, he, like everyone else, was “shocked” by the news of Justin’s arrest. Rusty said Justin’s Facebook and other pages often list him as working for Glen’s Army Navy but that he has not been employed there since 2016. 

For now, Justin Eichorn stands to face serious charges for a deliberate crime – a sex crime that the Minnesota Senate GOP and DFL have unitedly admonished with disgust. 

Duluth area Congressman Pete Stauber – GOP, has remained mum on the topic – as mum as his “no response” to the pardoning of Jan. 6 insurrectionists at the U.S. Capitol. Opposing constituents continue to challenge his silence. 

The irony in the downfall of Minnesota Senator Justin Eichorn is that Republicans of the Grand Old Party continue to ignore the dismantling of democracy at the hands of the Trump Regime – and a President, who has been convicted of sexual abuse, forced touching, defamation and concealing hush money to a porn star. 

Justin Eichorn’s predatory crime has been upgraded to the federal court system. It leaves many wondering – will the former Minnesota State Senator be the next Trump pardon in a country on the brink of disaster, where predatory sex crimes are winked at with a handshake for loyalty?