Former Minnesota State Senator Justin Eichorn argues in a new court filing that the Minnesota U.S. Attorney’s office is singling him out for prosecution for attempted sexual solicitation of a minor.
Investigators allege that in March, Eichorn exchanged explicit messages with an undercover officer posing as a 17-year-old girl. The Grand Rapids Republican, 41, pleaded not guilty.
Eichorn was among 14 men arrested in a sting operation in Bloomington. But so far only he and another defendant have been charged federally. They face 10-year mandatory minimum prison sentences if convicted. By contrast the equivalent state statute, with which they were charged previously in Hennepin County, carries a five-year maximum term.
Hennepin County prosecutors dismissed their complaint against Eichorn on March 19, the same day they filed the charges, when the U.S. Attorney’s Office filed its own complaint.
Defense attorneys Charles Hawkins and Arthur Waldon argue that Eichorn is being targeted because he was a public official, but they’re not accusing federal prosecutors of partisan bias.
“The only difference between the state and federal prosecutions is the potential punishment,” the defense attorneys write.
They add that federal prosecutors are “attempting to regurgitate the same factual allegations alleged in state court in an indictment to vindictively retaliate against Mr. Eichorn simply because he is a public office holder and exercised his first amendment right to political association and hold office.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office has yet to submit a response to Eichorn’s motion to dismiss the indictment, which was filed Friday.
Hawkins and Waldon note in their motion that the only other person to face federal charges related to the sting, Marawan Adel Tawleeleh, has a prior sexual assault conviction. Minnesota court records show that Taweeleh, 32, pleaded guilty in 2021 to assaulting a 15-year-old girl.
Hawkins and Waldon argue that because Eichorn has no criminal history, he’d likely face only probation if convicted in state court.
They point to the case of Forest Leandrew McElroy, who was arrested in the same sting operation. McElroy, 46, pleaded guilty in May to a child solicitation charge and cocaine possession.
When he’s sentenced in July, McElroy, of Burnsville, faces three years of probation and a maximum of 90 days in jail as part of a plea agreement.
