Minnesota officials are investigating the January arrest of a Hmong American man by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as a possible case of kidnapping, burglary, and false imprisonment. On Monday (April 13), Ramsey County Attorney John Choi and Sheriff Bob Fletcher announced at a news conference that they are seeking more information from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees ICE, as part of their inquiry into the arrest of ChongLy “Scott” Thao in St. Paul, Minnesota,.
Officials said ICE agents broke down Thao’s front door at gunpoint—without a warrant—early on January 18 and led him outside in just his underwear and a blanket in sub-freezing weather. He was handcuffed, removed from his home, and questioned for about an hour before being returned. Videos from the incident show neighbors protesting and calling out agents to leave Thao’s family alone.
“There are many facts we don’t know yet, but there’s one that we do know. And that is that Mr. Thao is and has been an American citizen. There’s not a dispute over that,” Sheriff Fletcher said. “There’s no dispute that he was taken out of his house, forcibly taken out of his home and driven around.” Fletcher also questioned whether this constituted proper law enforcement.
ICE said in a statement that officers were seeking two convicted sex offenders who they believed had ties to the property, but Thao said he had never seen the men and they did not live with him. The Minnesota Department of Corrections confirmed that one of the individuals sought was still in prison at the time.
DHS has so far refused to provide evidence to local investigators. Choi said, “This is not about any type of predetermined agenda other than to seek the truth and to investigate the facts.” He added that if DHS does not respond to their information requests by April 30, Ramsey County may sue or convene a grand jury.
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