The news has broken nationwide; Minnesota Republican state senator Dan Eichorn was arrested for allegedly soliciting hanky panky from an undercover officer posing as an underage girl. The charges appear, as they say, non-trivial (this from political reporter Tom Hauser at KSTP-TV in the Twin Cities), and the Minnesota Republicans are treating it as such:
MN Senate Republicans will make motion to expel GOP Sen. Justin Eichorn on the Senate floor Thursday morning. He faces state and federal charges for attempting to coerce a minor into prostitution. If Eichorn doesn’t resign first, he could be the first MN Senator ever expelled. pic.twitter.com/sBn61SzFBh
— Tom Hauser (@thauserkstp) March 20, 2025
The Minnesota GOP reacted, in the words of J. Patrick Coolican of the left-aligned Minnesota "alternate" Minnesota Reformer, "ruthlessly":
Minnesota Senate Republicans confronted a nightmare scenario Tuesday: A member of their caucus was accused of propositioning a 17-year old girl who turned out to be an undercover law enforcement officer.
Their response thus far has been brutally cold toward their colleague — and highly effective.
Within hours, they spoke with one voice — and called for Sen. Justin Eichorn, R-Grand Rapids, to resign.
No hemming or hawing and nothing about hearing his side of the story. Like Paulie in “Goodfellas.”
When Eichorn is ejected from the Senate, it'll increase the MInnesota Democratic Farmer-Labor (DFL) caucus's lead to two votes - one of them held by Senator Nicole Mitchell, who is currently facing multiple felony charges after the alleged burglary of her stepmother's house last year. Her trial has been (unexpectedly!) delayed several times, kicking the imperative to expel her down the road until at least this summer, as her vote (until Eichorn's likely expulsion) was the DFL's only cushion against a tied Senate. All tie votes are defeated - as is happening in the tied Minnesota House of Representatives. I urge you to read Coolican's piece for more background on the two cases.
As Coolican notes, the DFL was a little slower to respond to the rest - but not less strident:
Justin Eichorn is a national disgrace. pic.twitter.com/vaatByZoGq
— Minnesota DFL Party (@MinnesotaDFL) March 19, 2025
Seems pretty cut and dried, right?
Not so fast.
Two years ago, when the DFL took over the "Trifecta". the governor's office and both chambers of the legislature, one of the tsunami of progressive bills they jammed through removed "minor attraction" from list of exceptions to the Minnesota Human Rights Act - the official statutory definition of "protected classes" in Minnesota. Which didn't "legalize pedophilia" - having, or actively seeking, relations with underage people is still a crime, as Eichorn is finding to his alleged chagrin.
But it does mean employers. among others, could face legal sanctions for discriminating against people who express an interest in it; they are no longer specifically excluded from statutory protection.
While the DFL claims that the measure was not intended to "protect pedophiles", the DFL majority voted down a measure by Representative (and current GOP House leader) Harry Niska that would have removed all ambiguity on the issue.
So, according to the DFL, you can't act on those urges - but you can sure talk about 'em.
