Search Articles
ST. PAUL, Minn. (CN) — Local Minnesota officials announced an investigation Monday into potential crimes committed by federal agents during the arrest of an American citizen in the Twin Cities.
Officials in Ramsey County, Minnesota, said Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers may have committed kidnapping, burglary and false imprisonment during the Jan. 18 arrest of ChongLy Scott Thao, a Hmong immigrant and naturalized U.S. citizen with no criminal record.
Prosecutors said federal immigration agents forced their way into Thao’s St. Paul home, then handcuffed him and took him outside dressed only in shorts and Crocs in subfreezing temperatures.
Thao was driven around and questioned for about an hour before being returned home.
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told Courthouse News on Monday that officers were executing a warrant targeting suspected sexual predators tied to the property when they encountered Thao, who DHS said refused to be fingerprinted or identified through facial recognition
“As with any law enforcement agency, it is standard protocol to hold all individuals in a house of an operation for the safety of the public and law enforcement,” the spokesperson said.
Thao’s family said those men targeted by DHS did not live at the house, reports say.
Ramsey County Attorney John J. Choi said there is no indication the agents had a warrant for entry or arrest.
“We have diligently been working on trying to get to the truth. This is not about any type of predetermined agenda, other than to seek the truth and to investigate the facts,” Choi said in a press conference Monday. “And we have, I believe in the state of Minnesota, a sovereign right and a huge public interest to have a local investigation.”
Standing next to a photo of Thao being led out of his home, Choi made clear his office will pursue the case regardless of the significant legal challenges it will likely face in prosecuting federal officers.
“We are going to be dogged in our pursuit of the truth,” Choi said in the press conference, suggesting the investigation could turn into a federal lawsuit. “We are not going to let this go.”
In a letter to DHS on March 20, Choi set an information-production deadline of April 30, after which his office could sue or convene a grand jury.
The Supremacy Clause of the Constitution provides federal officials with broad protection from state prosecution for actions taken in the course of their lawful duties.
However, unlike a claim made on Jan. 8 by Vice President J.D. Vance, Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher clarified there is no such thing as “absolute immunity” for federal agents.
“Seizing a person out of their home who is an American citizen, they are not immune from that,” he said, adding it is the right of local law enforcement to investigate when federal agencies breach their limits.
“I’ve never seen tactics like were employed here in my 47 years,” he said.
The Ramsey County Attorney’s Office said it initially contacted ICE for more information after the arrest, but was denied.
“Federal officers may be found criminally liable under state law unless they act with legal authority in a way that is necessary and proper,” Ramsey County Trial Division Director Hao Nguyen said in a press release. “Whether or not these officers committed a crime, and whether or not they may ultimately be immune from prosecution, can only be determined through a full investigation.”
Officials said the agents have not been identified, but Fletcher said they switched license plates on a vehicle used in the arrest, violating Minnesota law.
The announcement marks the latest clash between state and federal officials after federal authorities initially refused to cooperate in the investigation into the January killing of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE officer.
Minnesota recently sued the Trump administration to gain access to evidence needed to independently investigate three shootings by federal officers during the immigration enforcement surge in the Twin Cities.
“ICE does not ‘kidnap’ people,” a DHS spokesperson told Courthouse News Monday. “This is nothing but a political stunt to demonize ICE law enforcement, who are facing a 1300% increase in assaults against them as they arrest the worst of the worst.”
The Justice Department did not respond to an initial request for comment Monday.
Subscribe to our free newsletters
Our weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.
