A Democratic mayor in Minnesota who described herself as a “MILF” is being sued by her own police chief over shocking sexual harassment and retaliation claims, court documents show.
St. Paul Police Chief Axel Henry filed the lawsuit against Mayor Kaohly Her on Wednesday, accusing the city’s first female mayor of a slew of “inappropriate” encounters — including comparing the top cop’s penis size, touching his upper thigh during a budget meeting, making orgasm noises at the police department gym, and photoshopping officers’ faces onto “bodybuilders with prominent bulges in the crotch area.”
The disturbing allegations were revealed in the suit less than a week after the city of St. Paul released its summary of findings of a misconduct probe into Her and concluded that the mayor “engaged in offensive and inappropriate behavior,” but her actions didn’t substantiate sexual harassment or retaliation, the Minnesota Star Tribune reported.
Henry’s 73-page lawsuit contains a whole slew of troubling accusations against Her on top of the ones released in the city’s probe.
Several of the allegations the mayor allegedly committed were during public appearances and government events, according to the bombshell suit.
For instance, while standing with Henry and Deputy Chief Tim Flynn at a Police Academy graduation on Feb. 19, 2026, Her allegedly asked the police chief, “Why is Tim’s bigger?” and made a “facial expression that suggested to Henry the comment was meant to be a sexual innuendo regarding the size of his penis,” the filing claims.
Henry asked Her what she was referring to and she allegedly pointed toward the ribbon bar on his uniform.
In the same conversation, Her allegedly asked Henry what his “MFF” Mobile Field Force ribbon stood for despite being already briefed on the events where they are worn.
After Henry explained it stood for Mobile Field Force, Her allegedly snarked, “Oh, I thought it said MILF so maybe I could get one,” according to the court docs.
Her also allegedly harassed Henry at the St. Paul police department gym. Beginning in November 2025, she would show up daily when she knew the top cop would be working out, he said in the suit.
The mayor would repeatedly make loud grunting and moaning noises while exercising that sounded like she was having an orgasm, the filing claims, according to at least five cops who witnessed Her making the sexual sounds.
She allegedly would also approach officers working out and call them “beefy.”
On multiple occasions in January 2026, the lefty mayor allegedly photoshopped the faces of Henry and other members of the police department onto a plethora of different bodies, including those of boy bands, UFC fighters and “bodybuilders with prominent bulges in the crotch area of their compression shorts,” the filing claims.
When two officers in the department saw one of the doctored images, “they both remarked that their wives would be offended if they saw it” and “Chief Henry’s long-time partner found the photograph offensive and utterly inappropriate,” the complaint said.
The mayor printed and hung the photoshopped photos in gold frames and bizarrely pasted her own headshot over official staff command portraits, department awards and SWAT retirement plaques within the police department hallways — including in areas where “the pictures of their leadership being mocked and sexualized” were visible to sworn-in staff and civilians, the lawsuit alleged.
Henry said Her scolded him when he didn’t find the photoshopped pictures to be funny and accused the top cop of not having “a sense of humor,” according to the court doc.
Several instances of unwanted physical contact and sexual advances were also alleged in the lawsuit.
Her allegedly tracked Henry’s calendar and followed him to an X Golf location on Feb. 6, 2026 while he was taking vacation time with a sergeant from the department.
The filing claims Her told them that she “had to come like this because you guys wouldn’t invite me” and left after 20 minutes.
On March 18, 2026, Her got up and sat herself directly next to Henry in a police department budget meeting and allegedly placed her hand beneath the table on his upper thigh twice without his consent — and extended her fingers towards his groin the second time, according to the complaint.
The complaint also claims the mayor and her administration engaged in an extensive campaign of retaliation designed to discredit Henry, interfere with police department operations, and penalize him professionally after coming forward with his complaint.
“[Henry] knew that accusing the Mayor of St. Paul of sexual harassment could jeopardize his career. He reported it anyway. He did so because he recognized the seriousness of the misconduct, the vulnerability of those subjected to it, and the likelihood that the conduct would continue if no one spoke up,” the complaint said.
“But instead of accountability, the retaliation began. Rather than confront Mayor Her’s misconduct, her administration, and those acting at her direction, embarked on a campaign to retaliate against and discredit Chief Henry,” the filing continued.
Her was probed just six months into her term after Henry filed a formal complaint with the city attorney on April 1, alleging that she sent “inappropriate, and indeed, unlawful text messages” to city staffers — including one about getting a “good weinering.”
Henry’s subsequent lawsuit demands that the city release the full report on its investigation into Her as a result of his complaint and also requests a jury trial to determine damages for “lost wages and benefits, emotional distress, humiliation, and harm to reputation.”
“Axel Henry is an honorable man and a dedicated public servant. He didn’t come forward for attention or advantage — he came forward because what happened was wrong and needed to be reported,” Henry’s attorney, Chris Madel, said in a statement to the Tribune.
“We look forward to proving our allegations in a court of law, where all evidence, not some sanitized summary written by the City about itself, can finally be heard.”
Meanwhile, Matt Wagenius, a spokesperson for the mayor, said the city does not comment on pending litigation.
“An independent investigation did not substantiate claims of sexual harassment or retaliation against any city employee,” Wagenius told the local publication.
“The Mayor will continue to lead Saint Paul and follow the recommendations of the report.”
