State Senator says campgrounds should reopen because there are homeless encampments [View all]

State Senator Justin Eichorn, R-Grand Rapids, deleted a tweet Tuesday featuring a video of him standing in front of tents pitched along a busy street in St. Paul to make the argument for Gov. Tim Walz to reopen campgrounds.

“As you can see behind me, we’ve got a nice little tent city set up here,” Eichorn said, addressing the governor. “If you’re okay with this, we should certainly be okay with our resorts in greater Minnesota.”

The tweet set off a parade of outraged comments leading him to delete the tweet. DFL legislators from Minneapolis and St. Paul were quick to issue a response.

“Living in a tent on the streets because you are experiencing homelessness is not a fun vacation outing,” the statement reads, signed by eight DFL lawmakers. “Senator Eichorn is using our most vulnerable Minnesotans experiencing homelessness for political posturing.’”

Link to tweet