Lead
ChongLy “Scott” Thao, a long-time US citizen in St Paul, Minnesota, says federal immigration agents forced their way into his home on Sunday afternoon, detained him at gunpoint without presenting a warrant and led him onto the street wearing only underwear and sandals in subfreezing temperatures. Family members and videos reviewed by the Associated Press provide the account; the Department of Homeland Security described the operation as targeted at two convicted sex offenders. Agents later returned Thao to his house after determining he was a US citizen, the family says, and Thao plans a civil rights lawsuit.
Key Takeaways
- ChongLy “Scott” Thao, a US citizen who has held citizenship for decades, says ICE agents forced entry into his St Paul home on Sunday afternoon and detained him at gunpoint without showing a warrant.
- According to the family and AP-reviewed video, Thao was led outside in his underwear and sandals with a blanket around his shoulders as his four-year-old grandson watched and cried.
- DHS described the operation as seeking two convicted sex offenders and said the citizen matched the targets’ description and refused fingerprinting or facial ID; Thao’s family strongly disputes that account.
- Thao was taken from the scene, photographed in the cold and returned an hour or two later after agents concluded he was a US citizen with no criminal record, the family says.
- St Paul Mayor Kaohly Her criticized the enforcement sweep, saying agents were not limiting arrests to “hardened criminals” and that the tactic was unacceptable and un-American.
- The family notes no one listed at the Thao rental appears on the Minnesota sex offender registry; the nearest registered offender in the zip code is more than two blocks away, they say.
- Thao’s son, Chris Thao, was briefly stopped by ICE earlier the same day while driving a borrowed vehicle; court records show the vehicle’s owner shares a first name with a convicted offender, which the family says is coincidental.
Background
The incident occurred amid a high-profile surge of federal agents into the Twin Cities, a deployment that has drawn criticism from residents and local leaders for aggressive tactics, including clashes with protesters and the fatal shooting of Renee Good. Local officials and advocacy groups have questioned the scope and oversight of these operations, saying they risk harming community trust and public safety by targeting broad populations rather than confirmed dangerous offenders.
The Hmong community in St Paul has a long history tied to US operations in Southeast Asia; Thao’s family emphasized that his adopted mother, Choua Thao, fled Laos after working with US-supported Hmong fighters during the conflict from 1961 to 1975. That history has heightened the family’s sensitivity to heavy-handed enforcement by federal agents and framed their public reaction.
On the other side, DHS and ICE assert that targeted operations are aimed at individuals with criminal convictions, including sex offenses, and say their methods can include forced entry when officers believe suspects are present. Those assertions, however, often collide with community accounts and produce calls for clearer evidence and stronger local oversight.
Main Event
Thao told the Associated Press that his daughter-in-law woke him from a nap on Sunday afternoon to say agents were banging on the front door of their rental home in St Paul. He instructed the family not to open the door; according to his account and video reviewed by AP, masked agents forced entry, pointed guns at occupants and shouted commands without displaying a warrant.
Thao said he asked his daughter-in-law to fetch his identification, but agents told him they did not want to see it. He says they handcuffed him and led him onto the sidewalk in only underwear and sandals, with a single blanket around his shoulders, while his four-year-old grandson watched and cried as neighbors protested and blew whistles at the scene.
The family says agents drove Thao to a remote location, ordered him from the vehicle and photographed him in the frigid weather; Thao told AP he feared being beaten. According to the family, agents eventually determined he was a US citizen with no criminal record and returned him to the house an hour or two later, asked to see his ID, and then left without apologizing or repairing the broken door.
DHS provided a contrasting statement, describing the operation as a targeted effort to arrest two convicted sex offenders and asserting that “the US citizen lives with these two convicted sex offenders at the site of the operation” and that the citizen matched the description of the targets and refused fingerprinting or facial identification. The DHS statement did not identify the alleged sex offenders or explain how agents linked them to the address.
The family issued a statement that it “categorically disputes” DHS’s account and called the agency’s public justification “false and misleading.” They also say none of the occupants of the rental home—including Thao, his son and daughter-in-law—are listed in Minnesota’s sex offender registry.
Analysis & Implications
Legally, the core questions center on whether agents had lawful authority to enter and detain without a warrant. Fourth Amendment protections ordinarily require a warrant for home entry absent exigent circumstances or consent; DHS’s claim that the operation was targeted at specific offenders will be weighed against whether officers had probable cause and whether any exigency justified a warrantless entry.
Claims that an individual “matched the description” of a suspect are often central to enforcement defenses, but courts scrutinize specificity and reliability. If the Thao account and video evidence align, civil liberties advocates are likely to argue that the entry and the manner of detention—taking a citizen into the cold in underwear in front of children—amount to unconstitutional conduct and may support a civil rights lawsuit.
Beyond court proceedings, the episode risks deepening mistrust between immigrant communities and federal authorities. Local leaders have already expressed alarm over perceived indiscriminate sweeps, and incidents that appear to involve mistaken identity can amplify fears, reduce cooperation with law enforcement and complicate efforts to remove genuinely dangerous offenders.
Politically, the case could intensify pressure on local and federal officials to increase transparency about enforcement criteria, to publish after-action reviews and to clarify how DHS verifies targets before forced entry. For DHS, defending the operation will likely hinge on providing evidence that investigators had adequate cause to believe both targets were at the address and that their tactics complied with internal policy and constitutional limits.
Comparison & Data
| Claim | Source | Documented Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| DHS: operation targeted two convicted sex offenders at the address | Department of Homeland Security (official) | Public statement by DHS; no named individuals or address-level evidence released publicly |
| Family: no registered sex offenders live at the rental; nearest registered offender >2 blocks away | Family statement, public registry check (as reported) | Family assertion and reported registry location; DHS has not provided counter-evidence in public |
| Video shows agents forcing entry, detaining Thao at gunpoint and leading him out in underwear | Associated Press (news agency) — videos reviewed | AP-reviewed video footage and family accounts |
The table above summarizes core, contrasting claims and the public evidence available. At present, independent, address-level verification from DHS is not in the public record; that gap is central to the dispute and likely to be a focus of legal discovery if litigation proceeds.
Reactions & Quotes
“ICE is not doing what they say they’re doing. They’re not going after hardened criminals. They’re going after anyone and everyone in their path. It is unacceptable and un-American.”
Kaohly Her, St Paul mayor
Mayor Her’s statement framed the incident as part of a broader pattern of aggressive enforcement in the Twin Cities that, she says, sweeps up people beyond intended targets and undermines civil liberties.
“I was shaking. They didn’t show any warrant; they just broke down the door.”
ChongLy “Scott” Thao, detained resident (as reported)
Thao’s first-person account, echoed in the family’s public statement and the video reviewed by AP, centers on the absence of a visible warrant and the emotional and physical distress caused by the detention.
“The family categorically disputes the DHS account and strongly objects to DHS’s attempt to publicly justify this conduct with false and misleading claims.”
Thao family statement
The family’s formal response rejects DHS’s portrayal and calls for clarification, publicly signaling intent to challenge the agency’s claims.
Unconfirmed
- Whether the two convicted sex offenders DHS referenced were actually present at the Thao residence at the time of the operation remains unconfirmed in public records.
- The public record does not yet show the specific evidence DHS used to conclude the citizen “matched the description” or to justify a warrantless entry.
- Details about why agents initially refused to accept Thao’s identification—according to his account—have not been independently corroborated.
Bottom Line
The Thao case highlights a fraught collision between federal immigration enforcement practices and community expectations of constitutional protections. If the family’s account and the video evidence are borne out, legal challenges could force a rare public accounting of ICE field tactics, evidence standards used to enter homes and the chain of command behind such operations.
For local leaders and immigrant communities, the episode intensifies longstanding fears about aggressive enforcement and mistaken identity. Observers should watch for whether DHS releases further specifics, whether Thao’s planned civil rights lawsuit proceeds and whether local or federal oversight mechanisms respond with policy changes or investigatory findings.