ICE agents held an elderly US citizen at gunpoint and dragged him out of his Minnesota home. The federal agents slammed open the door and showed no warrant to the resident. They did not ask for his ID or reveal details about his detention.
ICE agents dragged ChongLy “Scott” Thao out of his home in shorts and a blanket over his shoulders while it was freezing outside. Apart from the harsh weather conditions, the old man was embarrassed by the way he was tackled. He told AP his daughter-in-law woke him up from his nap, telling him ICE agents are at the door.
They did not open the door, but the agents forced it open and made their way in. They pointed guns at the whole family. Thao said, “I was shaking. They didn’t show any warrant; they just broke down the door.” This was a warrantless search among many other incidents amid ICE’s Minnesota immigrant crackdown. Despite the anti-ICE protests, the agents are relentlessly going after people.
WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT
A Minnesota man told @Reuters he felt fear, shame and desperation when ICE officers broke down his door with guns drawn, handcuffed him and dragged him into the snow wearing shorts and Crocs https://t.co/6twQvErm3s pic.twitter.com/x0H8jEWcFp
— Reuters (@Reuters) January 20, 2026
It is not an isolated event where ICE is dragging people by force when they don’t even have warrants for their arrest. Thao’s arrest was caught on camera, and the video has gone viral. He was put in handcuffs and taken outside in freezing weather while he was barely dressed. His 4-year-old grandson was crying, watching him get dragged outside.
The witnesses were whistling and honking at the against asking for warrants and hurling slurs at the agents. After detaining Thao, the ICR agents forced him to get out of the car in the middle of nowhere to take photos. That’s when they asked him for his ID.
Meanwhile, they had prevented him from grabbing his ID earlier. Thao was later released, considering he’s a naturalized US citizen with no criminal record. He also showed his ID when they brought him back. He added that the agents did not apologize for breaking down his door or detaining him.
Yep, @Reuters captured ICE breaking down a door and dragging a man out half-naked into the freezing cold in Saint Paul.
According to his sister-in-law, they returned him after realizing he’s a naturalized U.S. citizen with no criminal record. pic.twitter.com/g4ebFq6uF5
— Morgan J. Freeman (@mjfree) January 19, 2026
He also stated he doesn’t feel safe at all. St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her condemned ICE and said, “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.”
On the other hand, DHS has defended the detention saying it was part of a targeted operation to arrest 2 s– offenders. One of the offenders matched Thao’s appearance; hence, he was a suspect since the individual’s reduced face and fingerprint ID. He also revealed that none of his family members or property owners are mentioned on Minnesota s– offender list. He plans to file a civil rights lawsuit against DHS.
