The police chief of St. Paul, Minnesota has filed a sexual harassment complaint against the city’s first female mayor, Kaohly Her. Allegations include inappropriate behavior towards him and other department members. This was reported by a local NBC affiliate on Wednesday.
An external law firm has been engaged to investigate the claims. Mayor Her, in office for seven months, faces scrutiny following the allegations outlined by Chief Axel Henry. Leading the department since 2022, Henry’s lawyer, Christopher Madel, sent an April 1 letter to the St. Paul City Attorney. The letter claims Her’s behavior involved illegal conduct towards city employees.
“The City is on notice that Mayor Her has engaged in illegal conduct towards City employees,” Madel stated in the letter.
Henry’s action followed awareness of the mayor’s alleged conduct extending beyond isolated incidents to include sexual harassment of subordinate city employees.
“Chief Henry is not only seeking to address the wrongdoing but also create a measure of protection for his team,” Madel wrote.
A screenshot included in the letter revealed a text message allegedly from Her to an unnamed employee, stating, “Happy Weiner (sic) Wednesday! Wish I was having a (hot dog emoji) with you all on 6 today!” Below this message, an internet meme was included, later reported by The Minnesota Star Tribune.
The meme features a swaddled baby with an adult’s head, captioned, “When she wraps you up in her blanket after you gave her a good weinering.” The slang term “wienering” indicates sexual intercourse and is often misspelled.
Madel’s letter claimed Her used mobile phones for inappropriate communication, though no further examples were provided. Madel foresees potential litigation, urging the city to extract data from Mayor Her’s phones.
Neither the mayor’s spokesperson Matt Wagenius nor police spokesperson Nikki Muehlhausen offered comments when contacted by NBC News. Resolute Law, described as a “women-owned firm” and hired for the investigation, did not comment on its progress.
Mayor Her, 53, originally from Laos, spent part of her childhood in a refugee camp. She arrived in the U.S. at age three, growing up in Illinois and Wisconsin, as noted in her campaign biography.
The Star Tribune noted a previous incident where Her faced an accusation of inappropriate behavior. A former friend filed a restraining order petition last year, alleging inappropriate or sexualized questions from Her. Ramsey County District Court denied this petition, finding no evidence of threats or that Her influenced the friend’s removal from a board.
The court noted that the mayor had tried to resolve the issue, and her husband had been involved in attempting to mediate.