There's a flurry of new filings for the Minnesota state senate seating left vacant by the resignation of former lawmaker Justin Eichorn, while Eichorn himself seems to have gotten himself in more trouble since his arrest, as the Minnesota Reformer article republished below reports.
A talented boy, that one.
I noted last week in an update to Justin Eichorn resigns from Senate following federal charge; LeClaire to seek Senate 6 seat that Keri Heintzeman, wife of Nisswa Republican House member Josh Heintzeman, was seeking the office, as well as DFLer Emily LeClaire.
Since then, there's news of additional contenders. The Brainerd Dispatch reported Josh Gazelka joins race for Senate District 6 seat on March 21. Yup, that's former Minnesota Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka's son.
Numerous sources report that the former MNGOP state chair and current mayor of Nisswa has declared her candidacy in Jennifer Carnahan announces campaign for Eichorn’s seat in Senate District 6. A paragraph in the KSTP article:
. . .Carnahan resigned as Minnesota GOP Chair in 2021 after Anton “Tony” Lazarro, whom she had close ties with, was federally charged with child sex trafficking. Lazarro was a prominent fundraiser and donor for the state’s Republican party. . . .
That makes me wonder if voters will elect to honor Eichorn's legacy?
But there's hope. Today's Brainerd Dispatch reports that there's another Republican contender with Cotariu announces candidacy for Minnesota Senate District 6.
Update 4:36: In Former Minn. GOP chair Jennifer Carnahan, others enter race to replace former Sen. Justin Eichorn, Ryan Faircloth and Allison Kite add these GOP contenders to the: ". . .Angel Zierden, . . . John Howe and Doug Kern. .. " [end update]
Bluestem thinks the candidacy of the "West Point graduate, U.S. Army veteran and accomplished businessman" has everything to keep the Republican contender in the special election from being the political equivalent of an ingrown toenail, but I won't be holding my breath.
From the Minnesota Reformer.
Prosecutors say Eichorn lied about access to firearms, tried to hide laptop
by Madison McVanProsecutors are asking a federal judge to reconsider the pretrial release of former state Sen. Justin Eichorn — facing a charge of attempted coercion and enticement of a minor — after Eichorn allegedly attempted to conceal evidence.
Eichorn was arrested on March 17 after arranging to pay for sex with a person he believed to be a 17-year-old girl, but who was actually an undercover Bloomington police officer, according to federal charging documents. He resigned from his Senate seat a few days after his arrest.
At his first court appearance Thursday, a federal judge ordered Eichorn to be released from jail under a long list of conditions. Eichorn was expected to be released to a halfway house on Tuesday.
After Thursday’s hearing, prosecutors say they learned additional information that warrants Eichorn staying in jail until his trial.
According to the federal prosecutors: Eichorn made phone calls from jail to an unnamed woman — referred to as “Individual A” in the court documents — apparently arranging for the woman to pick up a laptop from Eichorn’s St. Paul apartment, where he lived during the legislative session. The woman lives in Eichorn’s hometown of Grand Rapids and is described as a “close associate” — during one phone conversation, Eichorn asked her to pick up a ring from his apartment.
“Apartment stuff is taken care of, just so you know,” the woman told Eichorn on March 20. She told Eichorn she planned to go to the apartment to pick up a laptop the following day.
As FBI agents prepared to search Eichorn’s St. Paul apartment on the morning of March 21, they encountered the woman. She asked to enter the apartment to retrieve a laptop she used for business. The FBI agents declined.
When law enforcement agents entered the apartment, they found a red bag containing $1,000 cash, an SD card, a handgun and ammunition, a laptop and a factory-reset iPhone.
Eichorn told the court he didn’t have any firearms in the St. Paul apartment. Lying about the gun is enough to detain Eichorn until his trial, prosecutors argued.
Eichorn’s alleged attempt to coordinate the removal of a laptop from his apartment, and the potential wiping of one of his iPhones, also warrants detention, according to prosecutors.
“Eichorn’s post-arrest conduct, including his lie to pretrial services concerning his possession of a gun, make clear that he does not intend to be truthful or to respect legal process. Instead, his conduct strongly suggests a willingness — and actual steps taken — to frustrate the ongoing child-sex investigation into his conduct.”
Prosecutors requested a hearing ahead of Eichorn’s scheduled release to a halfway house on Tuesday.
The court filing was first reported by KARE11.
A call to Eichorn’s attorney was not immediately returned.
Photo: Sen. Justin Eichorn (R-Grand Rapids), left, consults with Sen. Scott Newman (R-Hutchinson), right, during a vote Thursday, May 12, years ago before Gruenhagen filled the Hutchinson seat. Photo by Catherine J. Davis/Senate Media Services/via Minnesota Reformer.
This Minnesota Reformer article is republished online under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
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