I have never done a “Republicans on Parade” post before, and I may never do one again. But, as y’all know, I’ve been in a computer-induced(technogenic?) time crunch , and when I saw this article at Wonkette, I thought “this dude really deserves one – and with all the other – um – stuff going on, he’s not getting much attention.” Also, it’s Wonkette, and while not every one of their emails includes this line, many of them do:
” All Wonkette posts are free and public. Share with a friend!”
So here goes:
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To Catch A MAGA Predator: Somehow The Justin Eichorn Saga Keeps Getting Worse
He’s certainly got some kind of derangement syndrome.
New facts have been released in the case of Justin Eichorn, the (now former) MAGA Minnesota lawmaker who spent this past Monday introducing a bill in the state Senate to make “Trump Derangement Syndrome” an “official” mental illness and then getting arrested for solicitation with what he thought was a 17-year-old girl but was actually an undercover cop … and it does not look good for him.
Content note: This guy is disgusting and his (alleged!) actions are too.
According to the police report, Eichorn responded to an online ad posted by cops on websites frequently utilized by both adult sex workers and juvenile sex trafficking victims.
“[C]um $pend time with me,” the ad read, “Age: 18. I am: A woman. I see: Men only. Hi I’m [fictitious name] ready to plz I do both and incall only [covert law enforcement telephone number] City: Minneapolis, MN Name: [name] Location: Bloomington.”
“Hey [fictitious name] I saw your post and [sic] chance you are still available tonight?” Eichorn messaged the undercover cop, later asking, “What’s a guy gota (sic) do to get with the hottest girl online tonight.”
Eichorn messaged the UC again the next day asking if she was available, and when she said she was, he wrote “Awesome where ya at and what’s your rates.”
That same day (March 12), he messaged her “Qv or hhr how old are you.” The UC responded: “kinda nervous 2 say,” and then (purportedly) revealed, a few texts later, “im 17 sry don’t want u 2 b mad.”
He was, apparently, not mad. According to the notes on the police report, “QV” means “quick visit” or about 15 minutes, which I can’t imagine is lingo that people who have never done this before are aware of.
On March 13, after she had told him she was 17, Eichorn asked the UC again how old she was, and after she told him, messaged her, “Ok will ya send me a naught (sic) pic of you to show me your (sic) real?” and after she sent him a picture of a clothed woman with cleavage, asked her “Got anything with lot less clothes?” because why not ask the underage girl you want to pay for sex for some child pornography?
On March 17 (the day he introduced his Trump Derangement Syndrome bill) after asking her more questions about her rates and what she offered for them, he inquired about her age again.
UC: A lil younger than my ad….is that ok? I just wanna have fun and no drama babe Suspect: Sure I don’t know what your ad says cuz I don’t have it up anymore but as long as your legal age I am fine
UC: I am 17…like I said don’t want any drama but wanna be upfront cause one guy got hella mad at me
Suspect: Why was he so mad? I think age of consent is 17 when do ya turn 18 ?
UC: Idk lol he was a creep anyway. I don’t turn 18 till December
Suspect: It’s says age of consent is 16 …… over 18 is in a position of authority over you like a teacher or friends parent.
Gee, you’d think that, as a state senator, Eichorn would have been aware of, or at least been able to look up, Minnesota statute 609.324, which reads:
(c) Whoever intentionally does any of the following may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than five years or to payment of a fine of not more than $10,000, or both:
(1) engages in prostitution with an individual under the age of 18 years but at least 16 years;
(2) hires or offers or agrees to hire an individual under the age of 18 years but at least 16 years to engage in sexual penetration or sexual contact; or
(3) hires or offers or agrees to hire an individual who the actor reasonably believes to be under the age of 18 years but at least 16 years to engage in sexual penetration or sexual contact.
So not only was he aware that the UC was underage, he literally tried to convince her that it was perfectly fine for her, as a person under the age of 18, to have sex with him for money — which it definitely is not. (I personally believe that sex work should be legalized for consenting adults over the age of 18, but this is not that.)
On that same day, he also asked her how much it would be for “bare,” which does feel pretty significant given his opposition to legal abortion and his belief that “life begins at conception” — suggesting that, were she to get pregnant from the encounter, he would very much like to be able to force the 17-year-old girl he illegally paid for sex to give birth to his child.
According to the police report:
Around this point in the communications, law enforcement provided the Suspect with the address where the law enforcement operation was set to occur. The Suspect asked for a verification photo, writing, “Ok how about a pic in just your bra and underwear holding up 2 fingers.” In my training and experience, this kind of request is common amongst persons soliciting commercial sex in order to provide themselves with a sense of surety that the person they are planning to meet with is a real person of approximately the age and appearance of the person from whom they intend to purchase sex.
It was at that point that the UC gave Eichorn a map of where she was going to be and were he should park — and he went right there. Except, as we now know, he didn’t meet a 17-year-old girl, he met a bunch of cops. A search of his vehicle found “two Apple iPhones, an unopened Trojan brand condom in the driver side door, $105 cash in the driver side door handle, and $24 cash in the center console.”
“Every Sunday night during session,” Eichorn said in a campaign ad, “I say goodbye to my wife and kids and make the three hour trek to St. Paul, to fight for our way of life. Because day after day, it is under attack from metro liberals.”
You know, I think he might be right on that one, given what his “way of life” has turned out to be.
UPDATE: This post has been updated to note that Eichorn has resigned. He is expected to appear in court today, probably (if my rigorous studies of Dateline are any indicator) to explain that he actually just wanted to check in on the 17-year-old to make sure she was okay.
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I have linked (in the headline) to the Wonkette article, and have reproduced all the links in the text. I wasn’t able to pick up the 33-second campaign ad, but I can verify that the transcript of it is accurate.
Please consider this today’s open thread and feel free to comment on anything at all.
