ICE Dragged an Old Man Into the Snow. Now DHS Is Lying About It.

Summary

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Bulwark Takes: "ICE Dragged an Old Man Into the Snow. Now DHS Is Lying About It."

Date: January 20, 2026
Host(s): Sam Stein (Managing Editor, The Bulwark), Tim Miller
Main Theme:
An in-depth and urgent discussion about a viral video showing ICE agents forcibly removing a frail elderly Hmong man, Shangli Scott Tao, from his Minnesota home in freezing weather—despite his being a U.S. citizen with no criminal record. Sam and Tim examine the event, the government's response, and broader issues of law enforcement overreach and accountability.

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Episode Overview

Sam Stein and Tim Miller dissect a disturbing ICE raid in Minnesota, focusing on the mistreatment of an elderly Hmong man falsely detained as a suspected “illegal alien.” The hosts challenge the official DHS narrative, discuss societal and political implications, analyze the impact on immigrant communities, and highlight the administration's pattern of defending law enforcement misconduct.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Incident: ICE Raid on Shangli Scott Tao

[01:05-04:53]

• Summary:

  • Video shows ICE agents storming the home of Shangli Scott Tao on January 18, 2026, around 1:30 pm.
  • Tao, a U.S. citizen with no criminal record, is dragged out of his house in just a bathrobe and underwear in the freezing Minnesota winter.
  • He is detained in an SUV, questioned for an hour, fingerprinted, and then returned home after agents confirm he is a U.S. citizen—with no apology or explanation.
  • The incident was recorded and has gone viral due to its shocking nature.

• Key Observations:

  • The sheer number of ICE agents (seven or eight) involved is described as "over the top and not required."
  • Tao's humiliation and the risk to his health are characterized as unnecessary and inhumane.

• Quote:

  • "Once you've stormed the house with the jackbooted thugs...maybe you could have a moment to think, well, it's possible we should let this frail, old elderly person have a moment to put on his jacket at least before we perp walk him outside his home." — Tim Miller [03:20]
  • "They paraded this guy in front of his neighborhood, humiliated him, endangered his health. Who needs to be out there at that age in that weather? It's awful, awful, awful treatment, totally necessary." — Sam Stein [05:00]

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2. Context: The Hmong Community & Broader Law Enforcement Patterns

[02:20-04:34]

• Discussion:

  • Minnesota has a significant Hmong immigrant population, many of whom were previously soft Republican supporters and are now facing discrimination and unjust treatment from law enforcement.
  • Reference to "Gran Torino" as a metaphor for American prejudice and eventual cultural acceptance, contrasting the film’s message with the real-life treatment of the Hmong community.

• Quote:

  • "There's no reason to think this guy possibly could have been a danger." — Tim Miller [03:08]

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3. DHS and ICE Protocols Under Scrutiny

[05:10-08:11]

• Summary:

  • The agents did not present a warrant or ask for identification upon entering the home.
  • Guns were drawn on the family; Tao’s five-year-old grandson was terrified.
  • Tao was left out in "underwear and Crocs" in the freezing cold, subjected to rough treatment.

• Debunking Justifications:

  • The hosts refute DHS justifications that such aggressive behavior is necessary in law enforcement.
  • They attack statistics cited by defenders (e.g., Kristi Noem's claim that 75% of those detained have criminal records), noting that ICE’s own stats show only 47% have any record.

• Quote:

  • "This is just time and time again extremely gratuitous mistakes. Going after people that have done nothing and, and doing so in, in the most aggressive and, and way possible, in a way that is a total attack on their rights as citizens." — Tim Miller [07:10]

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4. Challenging the Official Narrative: DHS Response & Family Statement

[10:40-14:45]

• DHS Claim:

  • Spokesperson Trisha McLaughlin asserts ICE was targeting two convicted sex offenders allegedly living at Tao’s home.
  • Claims Tao “matched the description” of the targets and was “not cooperative.”

• Hosts’ Rebuttal:

  • Tim and Sam highlight contradictions and the implausibility of DHS’s explanation, seeing it as racial profiling and face-saving.
  • Point out that none of the supposed sex offenders were apprehended.

• Quote:

  • "She has been caught lying so many times, so many times that you cannot take—it's irresponsible to take what she says seriously." — Sam Stein [10:36]
  • "How is it possible you can refuse to be facially id'd when you've handcuffed an old man in his home?" — Tim Miller [11:03]
  • "I guess it's possible that three 80 year old Hmong men all live in the same home and two of them are sex offenders and one is not. But that seems extremely implausible to me." — Tim Miller [11:25]

• Family’s Statement (Read by Sam at [13:01]):

  • Categorically denies DHS claims:
    • Mr. Tao does NOT and has never lived with the alleged targets.
    • Only his immediate family lives in the house.
    • ICE did not present a warrant or ask for ID.
    • Tao suffers from severe psoriasis, worsened by extreme cold and stress.
    • Family is seeking legal action via ACLU and Attorney General Keith Ellison.

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5. Larger Questions: Law Enforcement Accountability and Government Defense

[14:49-16:31]

• Question:

  • Sam posits whether there’s anything ICE could do that the administration wouldn’t defend.
  • Tim’s answer: Highly doubtful; the administration is “going around the bend to defend heinous choice after heinous choice.”

• Civil Rights Probe:

  • The conversation ties the incident to the larger backdrop of police violence, notably the Renee Good killing in Minneapolis.
  • FBI—not the DOJ—is opening a civil rights probe into that shooting, highlighting broader issues of accountability.

• Quote:

  • "It's a rogue agency that can do whatever the hell it wants, including this." — Sam Stein [16:10]
  • "They're not investigating allies, period. End of story. Corruption, crypto. They're not doing public corruption investigations at all." — Tim Miller [16:31]

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6. Reflections and Cultural Asides

[17:14–18:28]

• A lighter cultural aside about “Gran Torino” and the infamous Clint Eastwood “empty chair” moment at the 2012 GOP convention.

• Tim shares an anecdote about RNC Chairman Reince Priebus keeping the chair in his office.

• Quote:

  • "Gran Torino is a great movie and I think that we could all use a little bit of soul warming, you know... maybe that does anything to help the Hmong community right now that's being menaced by our government." — Tim Miller [17:17]

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• “At no point did they do anything humane at all.” — Sam Stein [05:00]
• “It's a rogue agency that can do whatever the hell it wants, including this.” — Sam Stein [16:10]
• “You have 3,000. You've invaded a city with thousands of Agents, you can't find the people that you're looking for, but you've successfully detained many people that have did nothing wrong and are citizens. Not, not exactly, you know, you know, batting a thousand there.” — Tim Miller [12:21]
• Family statement summary denying DHS narrative — [13:01]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [01:05] — Opening, incident summary
• [03:20] — Overreaction and lack of humanity during ICE raid
• [05:00] — Inhumane treatment and failure to allow Tao to get dressed
• [06:00] — Details the warrantless, aggressive entry and impact on Tao’s family
• [10:36] — Grilling the veracity of Trisha McLaughlin (DHS spokesperson)
• [13:01] — Reading of family statement categorically denying DHS/ICE’s claims
• [14:49] — Broader question on institutional defense of ICE misconduct
• [16:10] — Civil rights investigation update and commentary about governmental accountability

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Tone & Style

The conversation is urgent, irreverent, and unvarnished—explicitly critical of both ICE’s conduct and the government’s attempts at justification. The hosts mix dark humor, cultural references, and a sense of advocacy for the marginalized, all with a tone of clear outrage and incredulity.

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Summary

This episode of Bulwark Takes delivers a pointed, sharp analysis of a viral ICE raid in Minnesota that forcibly and wrongly targeted an elderly U.S. citizen. The hosts meticulously debunk official excuses, highlight the trauma inflicted, and tie the incident to a worrying trend of governmental law enforcement excess—and the lack of accountability that enables it. The ongoing denial from ICE/DHS and the directly contradictory statement from Tao’s family indicate future legal action and continued scrutiny. As the hosts note, such events highlight the acute dangers facing immigrant communities and the fragility of civil rights when law enforcement is unrestrained and unrepentant.

Transcript

[A]

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[B]

Hey, everybody, it's me, Sam Stein, managing editor at the Bulwark, and I'm here with Tim Miller. It's MLK Day putting the work. We are monitoring the situation in Minnesota as usual. And honestly, Tim, it's like we could probably record one of these every three hours for sure. Every three hours. So it's like, you know, trying to be a little bit more selective with what we're doing. But this video has been blowing up throughout the last 24 hours. Basically, it involves a confrontation with an elderly man. I believe it's Shangli Scott TAO, WHO. On January 18th, around 1:30pm A group of ICE agents, like seven or eight or whatever, just. Just storm his house, drag him out as he's in a bathrobe and shorts or underwear. I don't even know. It's freezing out there. And they just bring him to their SUVs, gets placed in SUV, questioned for an hour, fingerprinted. And then ICE confirms what they should have known from the start, which is that he's a US Citizen, he has no criminal record. And what happens? He gets dropped back at his home. It is a startling video. I was wondering, do any. Any initial thoughts on when he first saw this?

[C]

Well, I think this is particularly sad, you know, because it's. We've been obviously focusing on the Somali community in Minnesota, but there's Also this big Hmong community, Asian immigrants, small tight knit group that had been kind of soft Republican supporters. Back when I was a Republican, I was mostly familiar with Hmongs from the outreach to that group during election season. Typical. And from the movie Gran Torino. Have you ever seen the movie Gran Torino? Could not be a better moment to watch that movie as Clint Eastwood plays an old racist fuck.

[B]

Oh yeah, I remember.

[C]

And all the Hmongs move into the neighborhood and he hates get off my lawn. Right, yeah, yeah, he hates him at first. And then, you know, like any other good movie about the American melting pot, at the end, you know, he's eating their cuisine, you know, recognizing the good family nature of them. Anyway, good, good movie to watch them. But anyway, you see, it's like there's no reason to think this guy possibly could have been a danger. And I think that's my first thought. And we'll get to the DHS response, but like once you've stormed the house with the jackbooted thugs, once you've gone in there and then you've looked at this man, I think that maybe you could have a moment to think, well, it's possible we should let this frail, old elderly person have a moment to put on his jacket at least before we perp walk him outside his home. So anyway, let's watch some of the videos so people can get the context. Look at how many of them there are.

[B]

It's ridiculous. Okay, we can stop it.

[C]

Yeah, we can stop there. And I, and I think just for folks who haven't seen this, just look at the picture of this guy close up, picture of him. This is just totally gratuitous. Over the top and not required. And you know, as a result you end up that this just menacing treatment of somebody that is here legally, that.

[B]

That'S what grabbed me. Which is at various points the ICE agents could have done a number of things differently. Let's say they just, let's just say they assumed. I mean they obviously assumed. Let's say they, they thought there was a bunch of, you know, illegal aliens in there. Okay.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

And they come upon the house, they barge in. They didn't have to necessarily do that, but let's say they just barge in and they find this old man in his shorts. At that point you can say, hey, we have some questions. Like, you know, like, what are you doing here? Like, can you like tell us, are you a citizen? Is there anyone else here we want to bring you down to? Like, because we don't believe you. We want to bring you down to the station or to whatever, Whipple or whatever and question you. Can you just get dressed first? Like it's freezing outside. Get dressed. You look old and frail. At no point did they do anything humane at all. Instead they paraded this guy in front of his neighborhood, humiliated him, endangered his health. Who needs to be out there at that age in that weather? It's awful, awful, awful treatment, totally necessary. And he's here legally and they just dropped him back on.

[C]

Citizen just mentioned a couple things for that that you can't see from the video. He says this, and this is obvious. They're doing this everywhere without showing a warrant or asking for identification. Multiple armed agents entered the apartment. So we can see that in that video. But now he's confirming that they didn't offer a warrant. He said once inside the house, they pointed guns at the family and handcuffed Shangli. Inside the home, his five year old grandson was napping on the sofa. Woke up crying in fear. And then when he was outside, he's in his underwear and Crocs. He's driven around for an hour. By being questioned after fingerprinting, did they confirm what they should know from the Start. He's a U.S. citizen with no criminal record. Dropped back off at home with no apology and no explanation, nothing. And you keep getting these, and I want to get into what DHS said, but something I'm seeing a lot of on social media. For folks who are blessedly inside a liberal bubble and are not seeing the people defending this, one of the common arguments for the more reason, I don't think there's any reasonable way to defend any of this. But you know, the less bloodthirsty wing of the people defending the ICE actions, what they're saying a lot is like, you know, this treatment of this guy is wrong. But anytime you do something at this scale, like there are going to be a couple of mistakes. And like you just heard Kristi Noem saying this over the weekend. 75% of the people that we've gotten are criminals. It's just like it's not true. Right? And Gnome was questioned, was corrected about this, like by their own stats, their own stats and their liars. 47% have a criminal record of some kind. We don't know exactly what that means. That means over half the people I've detained had no criminal record of any kind. And then on top of that, it's like in a country you have to balance rights and freedoms with public safety. Right? And it's like so sure yeah, people are going to make mistakes. Humans make mistakes in every context. This is just time and time again extremely gratuitous mistakes. Going after people that have done nothing and, and doing so in, in the most aggressive and, and way possible, in a way that is a total attack on their rights as citizens. Right.

[B]

So I'm not a mathematician, I'm just going to say that. But 75%. Let's just give them 75%. They've also.

[C]

And their stat is 47%. And Kristi Noem said 75% TV let's use their actual stat. 47%.

[B]

Let's use Kristi Gnomes made up stat. 75%. They've also announced that they've arrested or detained 10,000 people in Minnesota. Minneapolis. So what they're saying is 2,500 people they've put into detention have no criminal records. Are you proud of that? Is that like, hooray? Let's, let's cheer that we've done that to 2,500 people. Is that great? No. Bulwark takes a Sponsored by Deleteme. Delete me makes it easy, quick and safe to remove your personal data online. At a time when surveillance and data breaches are common enough to make anyone vulnerable, it's easier than ever to find personal information about people online. Having your address, phone number and family members names hanging out there on the Internet can have actual consequences in the real world. Makes everyone vulnerable. More and more online partisans and nefarious actors will find this data and use it to target political rivals, civil servants, and even outspoken citizens just posting their opinions online. I've got a huge online presence and it's super important for me to keep a handle on how much of my data is out there. So I am recommending Deleteme. The New York Times Wirecutter has named Deleteme their top pick for data removal services. Take control of your data. Keep your private life private by signing up for Deleteme now at a special discount for our listeners. Get 20% off your DeleteMe plan when you go to JoinDeleteMe.com takes and use promo code takes at checkout. The only way to get 20 off is to go to JoinDeleteMe.com takes and enter code takes at the checkout. That's JoinDeleteMe.com takes code takes. All right, I want to get to the DHS response because your girl Trisha McLaughlin, as is her custom, went on Twitter to offer some nonsense. Folks, I, I don't want to like. I just want to be straight about Trisha McLaughlin. Like she has been caught lying so many times, so many times that you cannot take. It's irresponsible to take what she says seriously. You just can't do it. And so we. You shouldn't. This is what she said. Okay. Yesterday in St. Paul, ICE conducted a target operation of two convicted sex offenders. One of the criminal targets had convictions for sex with a minor and sexual assault. The other target had convictions for sex assault with penetration in the first degree. She's so gratuitous. Domestic violence and violating a protective order. Both. Both also have convictions. Failure to register sex offenders. They both have final orders of removal. The US citizen lives with these two convicted sex offenders at the site of the operation. The individual refused to be fingerprinted or facially ID'd. He mastered.

[C]

How is it possible you can refuse to be facially id'd when you've handcuffed an old man in his home? Then couldn't you just facially ID him right there? Me and Bill Crystal went to this for a while. I'm kind of. I have big roads on facial ideas as a general statement. But you can't do this. How could. Yeah, exactly.

[B]

Continuing. He matched the description of the targets. So they're racially profiling. As with any law enforcement agency, it is standard protocol to all individuals in the.

[C]

I also Can I just. I just want to. He matched the description of the targets. The targets were elderly Hmong individuals that he, like, who does he live with in the home? Does he live. Does he match the description, the targets and that like they are looking for Asian men. Like literally like. I guess it's possible that three 80 year old Hmong men all live in the same home and two of them are sex offenders and one is not. But that seems extremely implausible to me.

[B]

But anyway, I didn't really pick that one up. Good point. As with any law enforcement agency, it's standard protocol to old to hold all individuals in a house of an operation for safety of the public and law enforcement. Oh my God. But this is the kicker. Both of these sexual predators remain at large in St. Paul. We will be providing the public with photos and descriptors to help us locate and apprehend these public safety threats. So in her defense statement, Trisha McLaughlin says we got it wrong. We racially profiled and the people who we were targeting are still on the loose. I mean that. That's the defense.

[C]

Yeah. Heck of a job, DHS. Great work. You have. You have 3,000. You've invaded a city with thousands of Agents, you can't find the people that you're looking for, but you've successfully detained many people that have did nothing wrong and are citizens. Not, not exactly, you know, you know, batting a thousand there.

[B]

Hey guys, listen. After we recorded this video, the family of Chung Lee Scott Tao put out a statement that puts into serious question whether what Trisha McLaughlin said was indeed factual. I know, shock, shock that it could possibly be disputed, but yeah, they are denying it categorically. I'm going to read you the statement. It's a bit long, so bear with me. But it's important to have the entire perspective here. Reads this. Mr. Tao is a United States citizen with no criminal record. He does not live with, nor has he ever lived with the individuals DHS claims were targets of this operation. The only people residing at the home are Mr. Ta, his son, his daughter in law and his young grandson. They do not know the individual's DHS references. ICE agents did not present a warrant, did not ask for identification, and nevertheless forcibly entered the home with weapons drawn. Mr. Tao went willingly with ice despite knowing he had done nothing wrong. During the operation, Mr. Tao was removed from his home wearing only underwear in approximately 12 degree weather in full view of his family and neighbors. He suffers from severe psoriasis, a serious medical condition that is exacerbated by extreme cold and stress. The treatment was unnecessary, degrading and deeply traumatizing. The family strongly objects to DHS's attempt to publicly justify this conduct with false and misleading claims. These statements have caused additional harm to a family already struggling to recover from a terrifying and unjustified encounter. The family is actively pursuing legal representation, has filed complaints with the ACLU of Minnesota and the office of Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison. Due to the ongoing legal process, no further comment will be made at this time. So there it is. Spokesperson for the family of Tron Lee Scottau just categorically denying what Trisha McLaughlin said and hinting that there will be a legal case brought against ICE and dhs potentially. We'll keep track of it. Now back to the conversation that Tim and I were having. So I have a question for you about this.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

And sort of rhetorical. Is there anything ICE could do, like a rogue ICE agent? Is there anything a Rosa rogue ICE agent could do that the administration would not defend at this point?

[C]

I don't think so.

[B]

Yeah, I don't think so.

[C]

I mean, you know, like, who the hell knows? I've been watching Landman. I don't know if they catch him on tape raping a Maggo, supporting woman, maybe. Like, sure. I don't. You know what I mean? Like, I'm sure we could come up with some fantastical thing, but. Yeah, I don't know. They've. They're going around the bend to defend heinous choice after heinous choice.

[B]

Which brings me to my last story. So, obviously a lot of this has been kicked up in the aftermath of Renee Good's killing. Perry Stein over at the Washington Post has a really important report today which says this. In the immediate aftermath of the death of Renee Good in Minneapolis, FBI agents launched a civil rights investigation into the actions of the immigration officer who shot her. According to three people familiar with the investigation in Asia, Minnesota conducted initial review of the shooting and determined that sufficient grounds exist to open a civil rights probe into the actions of Jonathan Ross. I know Christina doesn't want us to say his name, the officer who shot Good, according to the people. But the existence of the civil rights investigation stands in stark contrast to public statements made by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. And of course, naturally, DOJ is not doing the investigation. The FBI determined there would be sufficient grounds to conduct. They just will not do basic one on one investigation and police and Justice Department work. That's it. So it's a rogue agency that can do whatever the hell it wants, including this.

[C]

Yeah. I guess my reaction to that is that this is just only particularly stark because of the nature of ice's just corruption and blatant crimes and blatant affronts to people's security and rights that we're seeing in front of our eyes. But that's basically their MO across the government right now. They're not investigating allies, period. End of story. Corruption, crypto. They're not doing public corruption investigations at all. They're not looking into companies who are aligned with the administration. Obviously it's particularly galling in this case since they killed a woman. But, you know, it's in line with what we're seeing from the administration elsewhere.

[B]

Yeah. And they are investigating Jacob Fry and.

[C]

Tim Walzo and Don Lemon. But Gran Torino is a great movie and I think that we could all use a little bit of soul warming, you know, and so maybe, I don't know, that does anything to help the Hmong community right now that's being menaced by our government. Watch that movie.

[B]

Were you involved in the famous Clint Eastwood chair?

[C]

In the chair thing? Yeah. So I wasn't involved. That was fellow Never Jumper Stuart Stevens, who was behind that. So people can go take it up with him. We love Stuart, we all have mistakes in our lives. He's got a very long career. Okay? People don't know what we're talking about. Clint Eastwood spoke at the Romney convention to an empty chair. And how do you handle. How do you handle it? I mean, what do you say to people? Do you just. You know, I know people. People were wondering. You don't. You don't have it. Okay. But I'll tell you this. My one chair story is that Wright's Priebus kept the chair in his office at the RNC as like, a historical memento for people to, like, take pictures with and stuff that should be in.

[B]

A museum somewhere that's an artifact. Yeah, those were simpler times.

[C]

Really.

[B]

Those are simpler times. All right, buddy. Thank you for doing this. For those people watching. Thank you for continuing to watch. Obviously, like we said up top, just a lot of going on, a lot of it is depressing. We're trying to sort through it for you all, bring you stuff that's Peking our interest and grabbing our attention. If you support this mission, if you support what we're doing. Subscribe to the feed. Thank you all. Talk to you later.