Ramsey County probes ICE arrest of wrong man as potential kidnapping

Ramsey County is treating the ICE arrest of ChongLy “Scott” Thao as a possible kidnapping, burglary and false imprisonment case after federal agents broke open his St. Paul front door, removed him in freezing weather and later realized they had the wrong man.

County Attorney John Choi and Sheriff Bob Fletcher said they are seeking records from the Department of Homeland Security on the Jan. 18 arrest, including the officers’ names and whether they had a warrant. Officials said the county sent a Touhy demand in March, but DHS had not responded by the time they announced the probe. Choi said the county is weighing its next step, including a grand jury, a federal lawsuit or joining other litigation if the department does not cooperate.

Thao, 56, is a U.S. citizen and Hmong American man. Reporting based on video of the arrest says ICE officers bashed open his front door at gunpoint, took him outside in his underwear and a blanket, and drove him around for more than an hour before releasing him. DHS has said it was searching for two Laotian men who lived with Thao, but Thao and his family denied knowing the targets.

Fletcher said there was no dispute that Thao is an American citizen and questioned whether the conduct could be considered lawful policing. Kaohly Her, the St. Paul mayor and a Hmong American, condemned the arrest as “unacceptable and un-American.”

The case has struck a nerve in Ramsey County, which includes Minnesota’s capital, and in the wider Twin Cities Hmong community. The arrest unfolded amid a broader federal immigration crackdown in Minnesota, where ICE operations have drawn criticism over warrantless arrests and aggressive tactics. The political and legal fight comes as Hmong families in the region have already faced heavy pressure from immigration enforcement. In July 2025, the Minnesota Star Tribune reported that two dozen Hmong Minnesotans were awaiting deportation to Laos, and that the Twin Cities is home to about 80,000 Hmong residents, the largest urban Hmong population in the United States.

For local leaders, the Thao case has become a test of how far federal agents can go inside a home before accountability begins. Ramsey County officials are now pressing DHS for basic answers: who entered the house, what authority they had and why a U.S. citizen was taken at gunpoint from his own bedroom only to be released after the mistake became clear.