The first female mayor of St Paul, Kaohly Her, is reportedly under investigation for sexual harassment following a complaint filed by the Minnesota city’s police chief.
City leaders have contracted an outside law firm to conduct an independent inquiry into the allegations that Her, a Democrat who was elected in November, sent inappropriate messages to employees, including several members of the police department, the New York Times and NBC News said.
The outlets obtained a ۱ April letter to the city attorney, Irene Kao, written by Chris Madel, a lawyer representing St Paul’s police chief, Axel Henry, claiming that Her, a former state congresswoman born in Laos, engaged in a prolonged campaign of harassment against a number of workers “using one or more mobile phones”.
Henry, police chief since ۲۰۲۲, decided to “step forward as a formal complainant against the mayor after becoming aware that the mayor’s conduct has extended beyond isolated incidents and has included sexual harassment of subordinate city employees, including members of the Saint Paul Police Department”, the letter said.
It contains a screenshot of one message allegedly sent by Her to an employee, wishing them a “Happy Weiner Wednesday”, a redacted image, laughing emojis, and the caption “when she wraps you up in her blanket after you gave her a good weinering”, a misspelt reference to sexual intercourse.
An investigation by Cally Kjellberg-Nelson, an employment law expert at the law firm Resolute Law, was already under way, the Times said, citing records it had obtained. The newspaper said Kjellberg-Nelson did not respond to an email seeking further information.
The Guardian has contacted Mayor Her’s office for comment.
In a written statement to NBC on Wednesday, Her said she had cooperated with the investigation and believed the “full facts will come to light”.
The statement said: “As Mayor, I take my responsibility to treat every employee with professionalism and respect very seriously. I recognize that some of my attempts at humor fell short of the standard I expect of myself.”
In an emailed statement to the Times, Matt Wagenius, a spokesperson for the mayor, said he could not answer questions about the ongoing investigation.
“The mayor has deep respect for city employees and regrets any unintended impact her actions may have had,” he said. Asked if the investigation report would be made public, he said: “We will honor all applicable laws when making the determination.”
Madel told the Times that Henry would not be giving media interviews, but “will do everything to ensure that appropriate conduct is modeled and followed in the St Paul police department”.
The letter said Henry made “a thoughtful, deliberate decision” to file a formal complaint against Her because he wanted to protect city and police department employees.
“Recognizing both the seriousness of that misconduct and the vulnerability of those directly affected, he is concerned that, absent a formal complaint, the behavior will continue unchecked and may expose others to retaliation for speaking out,” it said.
Her served in the Minnesota house of representatives for six years before ousting the incumbent mayor, Melvin Carter, in a close, two-round election in ۲۰۲۵.
The ۵۳-year-old came to the US aged three as part of a resettlement program following the Vietnam war, which she told the Guardian in January gave her a unique perspective as a vocal opponent of federal immigration raids in the twin cities of Minneapolis and St Paul that resulted in the deaths of two unarmed US citizen protesters.
Henry has also spoken out against the surge of Immigration and Customs enforcement (ICE) and border patrol agents ordered by Donald Trump, telling the Times in January that residents were “scared to death” and “afraid to go outside”.
