Uncle of ex-Minnesota senator charged with soliciting minor says threats pouring into family business
Former Minnesota state Sen. Justin Eichorn is due back in court next week after being charged with soliciting sex with a minor, leading to his resignation on Thursday. Meanwhile, his family's store in Grand Rapids — Glen's Army Navy Store — is now getting threats, according to his uncle and authorities.
Rusty Eichorn told WCCO the news about his nephew is devastating, and threats to his outdoor and hunting shop are just adding insult to injury.
He says there's a perception his nephew still works there when he hasn't been an employee there since 2016. He now says the shop has been getting a number of harassing and threatening phone calls, with some serious enough that he's had to call police.
"When you hang up and they call back again 10 times in a row, it's just very troubling for my staff," said Rusty Eichorn.
The Grand Rapids Police Department confirmed to WCCO it had received reports of threatening calls to the business.
A judge ordered Justin Eichorn to a halfway house, but he's still in Sherburne County Jail as of Friday morning while waiting for a bed to open up.
He was also ordered to surrender his passport, wear a GPS monitor and is barred from having any unsupervised or unapproved contact with minors. Additionally, he's restricted from unsupervised or unapproved use of any devices with an internet connection.
He's expected back in court on Wednesday.
If you know of a child who may have been a victim of exploitation, call the National Center for Missing or Exploited Children at 1-800-843-5678 or visit the website.
