{"id":7415,"date":"2026-01-22T14:54:25","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T14:54:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/sirbenet\/?p=7415"},"modified":"2026-01-22T14:54:25","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T14:54:25","slug":"caught-on-video-u-s-citizen-grandfather-detained-by-ice-in-subzero-weather-now-hes-breaking-his-silence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/sirbenet\/caught-on-video-u-s-citizen-grandfather-detained-by-ice-in-subzero-weather-now-hes-breaking-his-silence\/","title":{"rendered":"Caught on Video: U.S. Citizen Grandfather Detained by ICE in Subzero Weather \u2014 Now He\u2019s Breaking His Silence"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

An ICE raid in St. Paul, Minnesota, has sparked outrage after a 56-year-old U.S. citizen, ChongLy \u201cScott\u201d Thao, was detained in his own home wearing only underwear. The grandfather, who has been a U.S. citizen for decades, says masked agents broke down his door, pointed guns at his family, and forced him outside into freezing 12-degree weather\u2014covered only by his grandson\u2019s blanket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thao recounted the terrifying moment to AP. \u201cI was shaking. They didn\u2019t show any warrant; they just broke down the door,\u201d he said. His 4-year-old grandson watched in fear, crying as the agents led Thao outside. Video footage shows more than a dozen agents leaving his home, leaving family members heartbroken.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey just took me out there with no clothes on\u2026 it\u2019s embarrassing,\u201d Thao told NBC. He described being thrown into a car, driven to an isolated area, and made to step out in freezing weather for photos, all while fearing potential violence. When he requested his identification, agents refused to let him access it.<\/p>\n\n\n

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ChongLy Thao. Credit: YouTube\/NY Post<\/a><\/sup><\/sub><\/kbd><\/mark><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Continue reading on next page…<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

After realizing he was a U.S. citizen with no criminal record, ICE returned him home\u2014but left without an apology for the forced entry or distress caused. The incident has fueled growing anger in Minneapolis and St. Paul, where residents and local leaders have criticized ICE\u2019s tactics, citing similar incidents, including warrantless arrests and the killing of Renee Nicole Good.<\/p>\n\n\n

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ChongLy Thao. Credit: YouTube\/NY Post<\/a><\/sup><\/sub><\/kbd><\/mark><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her condemned the raid, stating, \u201cThey\u2019re not going after hardened criminals. They\u2019re going after anyone and everyone in their path. It is unacceptable and un-American.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Department of Homeland Security defended the operation, calling it a \u201ctargeted operation\u201d aimed at two convicted sex offenders allegedly living at Thao\u2019s residence. DHS claimed Thao matched the description of one of the targets and refused identification procedures. Thao\u2019s family strongly disputes this account, calling it \u201cfalse and misleading\u201d and objecting to what they describe as an attempt to justify the raid publicly.<\/p>\n\n\n

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ChongLy Thao. Credit: YouTube\/NY Post<\/a><\/sup><\/sub><\/kbd><\/mark><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

This shocking incident highlights growing concerns about ICE\u2019s enforcement practices and the impact on families caught in the crossfire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What do you think about this raid? Share your thoughts and join the conversation below!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An ICE raid in St. Paul, Minnesota, has sparked outrage after a 56-year-old U.S. citizen, ChongLy \u201cScott\u201d Thao, was detained…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":7416,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7415","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/sirbenet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7415","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/sirbenet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/sirbenet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/sirbenet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/sirbenet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7415"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/sirbenet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7415\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7420,"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/sirbenet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7415\/revisions\/7420"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/sirbenet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7416"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/sirbenet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7415"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/sirbenet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7415"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/sirbenet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7415"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}