DHS Excuse For Dragging U.S. Citizen Out of His Home Spectacularly Falls Apart

AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File

The Department of Homeland Security’s excuse for dragging a U.S. citizen out of his home in his underwear fell apart when was it discovered the actual suspect had been in prison for over a year.

This past Sunday, immigration agents stormed the home of ChongLy “Scott” Thao in St. Paul, Minnesota. Thao was detained so abruptly that the agents whisked him away in his underwear despite the frigid winter weather, sparking outrage from social media users who watched viral footage of the incident.

Thao said the agents drove him “to the middle of nowhere” before making him exit the vehicle to take additional photos. Not long after, they discovered he was a U.S. citizen with no criminal record. He was returned after approximately an hour.

In response to the incident, DHS insisted that the operation was targeting two “convicted sex offenders” who were supposedly linked to the address. The men were identified as Lue Moua and Kongmeng Vang, a pair of undocumented Laotian men with criminal records. Thao denied having any association with the men and told authorities he did not know them.

According to a report from KSTP, at least one of them has been in prison since 2024. The report continued:

Moua, who has felony convictions dating back to 1992 of fifth-degree criminal sexual conduct, kidnapping, and violating a parental custody order, has been incarcerated at Minnesota Corrections Facility-Faribault since Sept. 4, 2024. His expected release date is Jan. 7, 2027.

DHS officials say Vang is “wanted for sexual assault, gang activity and assault.” Minnesota court records show one second-degree assault conviction for someone with that name back in 2011; the other offenses could not be verified.

DHS also defended the actions taken at Thao’s home by claiming he matched description of the actual suspects.

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