Former Sen. Justin Eichorn released to a halfway house as federal criminal case proceeds

A federal magistrate judge gave clearance Wednesday for former state Sen. Justin Eichorn to be released under conditions to a halfway house as the criminal case that led to his resignation proceeds.

Eichorn, who had been in jail since his arrest last week in Bloomington for attempted coercion and enticement of a minor, appeared in the federal courthouse in St. Paul in an orange jumpsuit.

Later Wednesday afternoon, Eichorn didn’t comment to a KARE 11 photojournalist as he walked briskly to a car outside the St. Paul court building.

He was granted release after a lengthy hearing, in which prosecutors alleged he was familiar with soliciting sex from online ads. In the detention hearing, prosecutors argued that the Grand Rapids Republican should stay in jail, given discrepancies in statements he made to a pretrial service officer.

Federal prosecutors contend Eichorn misled them about the existence of a firearm in the St. Paul apartment he rented while serving in the Legislature. They also suggested he attempted to keep a laptop and cell phone from investigators by having someone try to retrieve them while he was locked up.

Defense attorney Charles Hawkins suggested the laptop could have been used for Eichorn’s apartment leasing business, which he shares with his wife.

Hawkins said his client’s wife, who tried to pick up the laptop at the apartment, could have needed it for business purposes. She was met by FBI agents, according to a prior court filing.

Brittany Eichorn filed for divorce on Monday.

FBI Special Agent Matthew Vogel testified at Wednesday’s hearing that he didn’t have enough information yet to describe what was on the computer. He said Justin Eichorn shared the password to the laptop, but because much of the information on it is encrypted, investigators needed more time to get full results. 

Investigators were also inspecting an iPhone 6 found in the apartment; it had been reset to factory settings in February, before Eichorn’s arrest.

Hawkins also argued that Eichorn’s claim that he did not have a gun was not a lie, but a misunderstanding. He said the former lawmaker’s statement made to court interviewers could have been misheard in a noisy interview room, or he could have misunderstood the question. 

Prosecuting attorney Dan Bobier told Judge Shannon Elkins he was most concerned about Eichorn allegedly lying to the court about having a gun in his apartment. 

Bobier argued there was no misunderstanding about the question.

“He has no interest in being honest,” Bobier argued. “That’s a problem and it’s one warranting detention.” 

After an hours-long hearing, Elkins ruled that Eichorn should be released to a halfway house. She said he is not a flight risk given significant ties to Minnesota and is not a danger to the public given his lack of a criminal history or mental health concerns.

The judge said Eichorn would be released under strict conditions — including not leaving Minnesota, staying in a halfway house, not possessing a gun, being on home detention and submitting to GPS monitoring — and asked if he understood that if he breaks any of them, he’d be arrested pursuant to a warrant.

“It’s clear your honor,” Eichorn said.

Bobier asked for a 48-hour stay on the release order, but Elkins denied the request.

Eichorn’s defense challenged probable cause in the case, arguing that the prosecution couldn’t prove Eichorn would have followed through with paying for an encounter with a person he had contacted through a prostitution ad.

But Elkins ruled against that challenge. She said it made no difference whether Eichorn finalized an agreement with the person he believed to be a teenage girl; the fact that he offered anything in exchange for sexual contact with someone he believed to be underage was enough to break the law.

The next hearing in the case hasn’t been scheduled.

MPR News reporter Peter Cox contributed to this story

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