St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her is facing accusations of sexual harassment, including allegedly sending suggestive text messages to city employees and members of the St. Paul Police Department. The allegations were detailed in a sexual harassment complaint filed by Police Chief Axel Henry.
According to the complaint, Her, 53, is accused of sending a text message to a city employee that read, "Happy Weiner Wednesday!" The message was reportedly accompanied by a partially redacted image of a swaddled baby with the face of a St. Paul police officer edited onto it. The accompanying text stated, "When she wraps you up in a blanket after you gave her a good weinering," with two crying-with-laughter emojis. This message is believed to reference a department tradition where staffers bring hot dogs on Wednesdays, a day informally known as "Weiner Wednesdays."
Henry's attorney, Chris Madel, formally filed the complaint with St. Paul City Attorney Irene Kao on April 1. The letter stated that Henry filed the complaint "after becoming aware that the Mayor's conduct has extended beyond isolated incidents" and that Her had allegedly "engaged in illegal conduct towards city employees." Madel requested a full filesystem extraction of all of Her's mobile phones, indicating that future litigation was "reasonably foreseeable."
An independent investigation into the allegations has been opened. A spokesperson for Her's office, Matt Wagenius, stated that the city would not comment on an active investigation but added, "The mayor has deep respect for city employees and regrets any unintended impact her actions may have had."
The investigation reportedly includes accusations of unwanted physical contact from Her towards Henry, though details remain scarce as alleged witnesses have been instructed not to discuss the matter. The investigation is being conducted by employment litigation attorney Cally Kjellberg-Nelson.
Her made history as the first woman elected mayor of St. Paul in November. She is also the first Hmong person to hold the office. Previously, Her served in the Minnesota House of Representatives. The mayor's office has not yet announced when the investigation will be finalized or how its findings will be publicly shared.
This is not the first time Her has faced allegations of sexual misconduct. Earlier this year, a former family friend, Shirly Yang, claimed Her introduced her to a state representative who subsequently became her on-and-off boyfriend. Yang alleged that Her initiated unwanted conversations about sexuality and spirituality, leading Yang to seek a restraining order against the mayor for alleged threatening behavior. A Ramsey County District Court referee ruled against the restraining order, finding a lack of evidence that Her had threatened Yang.