St. Paul mayor investigated after police chief complaint

St. Paul, Minnesota, is conducting an independent investigation into sexual harassment allegations against Mayor Kaohly Her, following a formal complaint filed by Police Chief Axel Henry. The complaint, detailed in an April 1 letter from Henry's attorney, Chris Madel, to City Attorney Irene Kao, accuses the mayor of engaging in inappropriate conduct toward subordinate city employees, including members of the police department.

The letter alleges the mayor's conduct extended beyond isolated incidents and included sending inappropriate text messages. As an example, it included a screenshot of a message from Her that read, "Happy Weiner Wednesday! Wish I was having a hot dog with you all." The message was accompanied by a partially redacted image of a swaddled baby with a caption stating, "When she wraps you up in her blanket after you gave her a good weinering," followed by laughing emojis. According to a person familiar with the matter, the redacted portion of the image contained the face of a St. Paul police officer from the mayor's security detail superimposed on the baby. The term "Weiner Wednesday" refers to an informal weekly event where a civilian employee brings hot dogs...