Ramsey County officials sue DHS over investigation into Hmong American's arrest in St. Paul

Authorities in Ramsey County, Minnesota, are accusing the Department of Homeland Security of being noncooperative in the investigation into immigration agents' treatment of a U.S. citizen during an arrest in St. Paul earlier this year.

Ramsey County Attorney John Choi and Sheriff Bob Fletcher plan to announce a lawsuit against DHS on Wednesday, seeking "declaratory and injunctive relief to set aside Defendants' unlawful policy of noncooperation and their refusal to comply with the investigative demands of Minnesota authorities."

County officials in April launched an investigation into the arrest of 56-year-old Chongly Scott Thao, a Hmong American who said Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents broke down his door with a warrant and detained him at gunpoint. Video showed agents bringing Thao out of his house in the January cold in his underwear. Thao said the agents brought him to the "middle of nowhere" before reviewing his identification and bringing him home.

DHS officials claimed Thao lived with two convicted sex offenders whom ICE was targeting: Thao's family and St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her said it was a case of mistaken identity.

Choi and Fletcher plan to hold a 1:45 p.m. news conference about the lawsuit.

On Monday, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said federal investigators are now sharing evidence in connection with three shootings by immigration agents, including the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. Local officials had been pushing the feds for months to cooperate in the investigations, and Moriarty and Ellison filed their own suit over the withholding of access. That suit will remain active as local authorities comb through the evidence.