St. Paul’s normally buttoned-up City Hall has been pulled into an outside investigation into sexual-harassment allegations against Mayor Kaohly Her after Police Chief Axel Henry filed a formal complaint. The complaint, first reported this week, accuses the mayor of making sexualized comments and engaging in unwanted physical contact directed at subordinate city employees, and it includes screenshots of text messages and an image shared among staff. In a statement, the mayor’s office said she has “deep respect for city employees” and “regrets any unintended impact,” while people familiar with the inquiry say witnesses have been instructed not to speak publicly while the process plays out.
According to the Minnesota Star Tribune, the newspaper obtained an April 1 letter from Chief Henry’s attorney, Chris Madel, to St. Paul City Attorney Irene Kao notifying the city that Henry had filed a formal complaint. The paper reports that the letter alleges the mayor’s conduct “has extended beyond isolated incidents” and calls on city IT staff to perform a full filesystem extraction of Mayor Her’s mobile phones to preserve messages, photos and other potential evidence.
The letter also included screenshots and a partially redacted image that, according to the reporting, carried sexual innuendo. The Star Tribune published text from the screenshots, including a message that read “Happy Weiner Wednesday!” and a note above a swaddled-baby photo stating, “When she wraps you up in a blanket after you gave her a good weinering,” punctuated with laughing emojis.
Who’s Involved
Kaohly Her was elected in 2025 as St. Paul’s first woman and first Hmong mayor, according to the City of Saint Paul. Her office has been central in recent debates over policing, city spending and broader budget priorities. The city’s official site outlines her biography and mayoral agenda, while the Saint Paul Police Department’s administration page notes that Axel Henry served in the department for more than two decades before being sworn in as chief in 2022. According to the police department, officials there have declined to comment on the ongoing investigation.
Investigation And Next Steps
Reports say the city hired a St. Cloud-based law firm, Resolute Law, in early April to handle the probe. The firm did not respond to requests for comment. Witnesses familiar with the inquiry have been told not to speak publicly while interviews are underway, and Henry’s attorney wrote that the chief identified himself as a formal complainant to “create a measure of protection for his team.” The letter further warned that future litigation could be “reasonably foreseeable” if the allegations are not addressed.
Why This Matters Locally
The allegations land at a delicate moment, as the mayor and city leaders are already working through tensions with the police department over staffing levels and spending priorities. How this investigation unfolds, how records are preserved, which witnesses are interviewed and whether discipline or legal claims follow could ripple through upcoming budget negotiations and council debates. The stakes are not only political; they also cut to internal morale in the police department and public trust in City Hall.
What To Watch
Residents should watch for any formal updates from the city attorney’s office or from the outside investigators on the scope and timeline of the probe, as well as potential future public statements from Chief Henry or Mayor Her’s office. If the review concludes that city policies were violated, possible next steps could include personnel action, mediation or civil claims, developments that would carry clear political and administrative consequences for St. Paul’s leadership.
