Hao Nguyen, his mother and two brothers fled the Vietnam War and lived in a refugee camp in the Philippines for two years before immigrating to the United States. He grew up in a trailer park in St. Cloud, as his mother worked at a meat processing plant. Nguyen and his brothers attended school as English-as Second-Language students.
Nguyen attended St. Cloud State University and worked as a correctional officer at the Stearns County jail during college. Nguyen worked for the St. Cloud Police Department for a year before joining the Stearns County Sheriff’s Office as a deputy.
Nguyen told Sahan Journal his experience testifying at trials as a law enforcement officer compelled him to pursue a career as a lawyer. He attended the Mitchell Hamline School of Law while working as a deputy, commuting from St. Cloud to St. Paul during his first three years of law school. He quit his job to become a full-time law student in 2009, and graduated a year later. Nguyen clerked in the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office for three years, where he focused on juvenile prosecutions.
He returned to St. Cloud to work as a prosecutor, working on misdemeanors and domestic assault and drunk driving cases. He was hired by the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office in 2014, and has worked there since, eventually becoming director of the office’s trials division.
Nguyen is endorsed by state senators Foung Hawj and Susan Pha, Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt, Ramsey County Attorney John Choi, St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her and several other local officials.
Sahan Journal asked the county attorney candidates several questions about why they’re running for the office, and their priorities for the post. Read Nguyen’s responses in his own words below.
Why are you running for Hennepin County attorney?
We are at a crossroads: Hennepin County still faces high crime rates, there’s currently low trust in the county attorney's office, and we need to find justice for victims of Operation Metro Surge. In Ramsey County, where I’m director of the trials division, we’ve lowered gun violence, reduced auto theft, cut racial disparities, and more, all through hard conversations and collaboration. We are investigating federal agents with local law enforcement. We need this experienced, collaborative, innovative, transparent leadership desperately; I know I can provide it.
I am a refugee. Growing up in a trailer park in St. Cloud, MN, my mom had PTSD from the Vietnam War and my brother had schizophrenia. I know what it’s like to have nothing – and to be racially profiled. These lived experiences have helped me have empathy for people who commit crimes and also know how critical safety is for everyone in Hennepin County. I have dedicated my life to public service: first as a corrections officer, then as a police officer, and now as a prosecutor in a county attorney’s office. I am the most qualified candidate for Hennepin County attorney.
What are your priorities for the county attorney's office?
Everyone in Hennepin County knows someone who's been a victim of crime these last four years -- if it hasn't happened to them. Car thefts in Minneapolis are up 24% since this time in 2025. I'm hearing that voters want their county attorney to do all they can to keep them safe, and they want to know people are being treated fairly. I will partner with law enforcement and transfer the trauma-informed victim services and diversion practices we're using in Ramsey County to help keep everyone in Hennepin County safe, and protect everyone’s rights and work to address the root causes of crime.
What do you plan to do differently from your predecessor?
The current Hennepin County attorney has made some good changes, such as hiring social workers to support truancy reduction efforts and developing focused deterrence strategies. However, their manner of making decisions and instituting changes without sufficient input and support from the community and stakeholders has hurt the standing and effectiveness of the office.
I've been a prosecutor for 16 years and for the past 7 have led the trial division in the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office. I supervise prosecutors, manage budgets, hire and train attorneys. I worked nights as a correctional officer to put myself through college; there I learned that every one person, inmate or not, deserves to be treated with dignity and respect.
My years as a sworn police officer and deputy sheriff give me credibility with law enforcement — credibility that I use to work with them to make good reforms. But let me be clear, collaboration doesn’t mean deference: and when officers violate our trust, I have no problem holding them accountable.
We’ve gotten real results in Ramsey County through hard conversations and focused collaboration.
We have:
- Cut racial disparities in traffic stops by more than half.
- Reduced carjacking and auto theft to nation-leading levels.
- Utilizing restorative justice practices we’ve reduced youth recidivism.
- And we’ve brought gun violence down to an all time low.
I’ve stood up to sex traffickers, abusive employers, and federal government overreach. I'm currently leading a team investigating federal officer abuses and I will not back down until we get to the truth and see accountability.
This is the experience and kind of leadership I’ll bring to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office on day one.
What racial and socio-economic disparities in the criminal justice system have you identified, and how will you address them as county attorney?
I believe it is a prosecutor's duty to address social inequity that is impacted by their role. For example, prosecutors should have strong programs for assisting with the sealing of criminal records when appropriate, because those records perpetuate inequities, as well as often being counterproductive generally as a public safety tool. Additionally, to the extent they have the ability to do so, they should provide leadership in addressing issues that lead to involvement in the criminal justice system, such as housing and employment inequities, and supporting changes and programs in the criminal legal system that address underlying issues such as mental health and addiction.
How can the office change practices in civil court matters to improve services to the public and address disparities?
By developing and maintaining a strong relationship with the court, the county attorney can have an impact on these matters. I have done this in Ramsey County and will work to build a strong relationship that will help to bring community concerns to the court that will result in needed changes.