ICE Agents Break Into Minnesota Home, Detain U.S. Citizen Barely Clothed

Federal immigration agents forced open the St. Paul home of ChongLy "Scott" Thao, 56, at gunpoint on Sunday, Jan. 18, detained him without showing a warrant and led him out in his underwear into subfreezing temperatures, according to his family and videos reviewed by The Associated Press.

The incident occurred amid a deployment of about 3,000 federal officers to the Minneapolis area as part of President Donald Trump's immigration enforcement surge and followed the Jan. 7 fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good, events that have prompted protests and scrutiny of federal tactics, Reuters and AP reported.

The Department of Homeland Security said the ICE operation was a "targeted operation" seeking two convicted sex offenders and that Thao "matched the description of the targets" and refused fingerprinting or facial identification, DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said, while Thao's family in a statement "categorically disputes" the DHS account and ChongLy Thao said he plans to file a civil rights lawsuit.

The federal deployment has involved about 3,000 officers in the Minneapolis area and has drawn judicial scrutiny, including an injunction issued by U.S. District Judge Katherine Menendez restricting the drawing and pointing of weapons and certain detainment tactics, according to Reuters and court records.

ChongLy Thao said he will file a civil rights lawsuit over the Jan. 18 incident, and DHS did not provide the identities of the two convicted sex offenders or explain why it believed the targets were present at the home when AP requested that information, records show.