Justin Eichorn

The guilty plea comes more than a year after the Grand Rapids Republican's arrest as part of an undercover law enforcement sting operation.

The former state senator was charged in March 2025 after a prostitution sting operation in Bloomington, where an undercover police officer posed as a 17-year-old online.

In seeking to move the date, Eichorn waived his rights to a speedy trial, but said he does intend to proceed to a jury trial.

The former lawmaker's trial is slated to begin March 30, 2026. Eichorn was charged with soliciting a minor in 2025 after a prostitution sting operation in Bloomington, where an undercover officer posed as a 17-year-old online.

KAXE covered natural disasters, federal funding chaos, Eichorn's arrest and resignation, mining permits and wild rice, library budget cuts, sheriffs teaming with ICE and more.

A federal judge rejected most of Justin Eichorn's defense motions to dismiss the case or suppress evidence in a Nov. 26, 2025, order and recommendation.

The former Minnesota state senator is one of two people being charged at the federal level, which carries a tougher maximum sentence compared to the state level.

The Republican won all but 11 of 80 precincts in Senate District 6 in her April 29, 2025, special election victory. Seven precincts that voted red in 2022 flipped.

In a recent motion, Eichorn's attorneys asked for his release conditions to be modified to allow him contact with his children. The motion was later withdrawn.

Justin Eichorn was arrested on March 17, 2025, at a parking lot in Bloomington, where he allegedly expected to meet the underage girl to pay for sex.