A Republican lawmaker who recently introduced a bill to classify “Trump derangement syndrome” (“TDS”) as a mental illness was arrested for allegedly trying to solicit sex from someone he believed was a teenage girl, according to police.
The Bloomington Police Department stated that the supposed teen was actually an undercover detective who had arranged to meet 40-year-old Senator Eichorn at a public location. When Eichorn arrived in a pickup truck, officers arrested him.
Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges emphasized Eichorn’s age in a statement but did not mention his political position. “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,” Hodges said.
As of Tuesday afternoon, Eichorn had not been formally charged, but police confirmed that felony charges for soliciting a minor for prostitution were pending.
Eichorn’s office has not responded to requests for comment, while many of his fellow Republican lawmakers are now urging him to resign, according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
Eichorn, along with other GOP politicians, had recently pushed a bill to add “Trump derangement syndrome” to Minnesota’s mental health definitions. The term, often used by Trump supporters, was defined in the bill as “the acute onset of paranoia in otherwise normal persons that is in reaction to the policies and presidencies of President Donald J. Trump.”
However, CBS News reported that the bill is unlikely to advance, as Democrats hold a narrow one-vote majority in the state Senate, where it was introduced.
