ICE Breaks Down Door and Detains U.S. Citizen at Gunpoint Without Warrant, Forces Him Into Subfreezing Cold in Underwear

ChongLy Scott Thao, a U.S. citizen in St. Paul, Minnesota, says masked federal immigration agents forced their way into his home while he was napping.

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Associated Press

He alleges they detained him at gunpoint without showing a warrant and led him outside in just underwear and sandals into subfreezing conditions.

Associated Press

Multiple outlets report Thao's account and cite videos reviewed by The Associated Press that show armed officers bursting in and handcuffing him as his 4-year-old grandson cried.

Local and national outlets presented the episode as an aggressive enforcement action that left Thao shaken and exposed to freezing weather before agents later returned him to his home.

Video and eyewitness reports from multiple local outlets show more than a dozen armed agents, with neighbors blowing whistles and shouting as officers moved through the home.

Family members and AP-reviewed videos say agents at times refused to look at Thao’s identification and handcuffed him.

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According to several accounts, agents drove him to a remote spot, photographed him, and then returned him home hours later after determining he had no criminal record.

The incident unfolded amid a wider deployment of federal agents to the Twin Cities that has prompted local criticism and political pushback.

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CBS News

St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her publicly criticized the operations, saying ICE is not 'going after hardened criminals' and that the sweep has drawn outrage from residents.

Reporting ties the surge to complaints of aggressive clashes with protesters and the recent fatal shooting of Renee Good.

Homeland Security and ICE responses appear in some reports but are disputed by Thao and his family in others.

GreeleyTribune cites the Department of Homeland Security saying the action was a 'targeted operation' seeking two convicted sex offenders and that Thao 'matched the description' and refused to be fingerprinted or facially identified.

Daily Kos

Thao's family strongly disputes that account, saying the people DHS named were strangers who did not live with them and that only four family members lived in the house.

Thao and his family say the episode left them fearing for their safety.

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They are planning legal action in response.

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GreeleyTribune reports the family intends to file a civil-rights lawsuit.

Several outlets note that agents later determined Thao had no criminal record and returned him without apology.

DHS did not respond to follow-up questions.

Local and alternative reporting highlights the emotional toll on the family, including the grandson’s distress and the family’s history of fleeing persecution in Laos.