State Sen. Tou Xiong was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving and booked into jail early Thursday morning. It’s the second time as a legislator that he has been arrested for suspicion of drunken driving.
Xiong, a Democrat who lives in Maplewood, provided a statement through a Senate DFL spokesperson in which he said he was arrested near his home after a family gathering and apologized.
“While driving home after attending a family gathering, I was pulled over near my home and was arrested for suspicion of driving while intoxicated,“ Xiong said. ”I take full responsibility for my actions, and sincerely apologize to my constituents and the people I’ve let down.”
He was arrested by State Patrol and booked into Ramsey County jail a little before 4 a.m. Thursday and released around 6:40 a.m., the online roster shows. He’s suspected of third-degree driving while impaired and the case has been forwarded to the Maplewood city prosecutor’s office, according to a State Patrol spokesman.
Xiong, 35, added in his statement that he thanks law enforcement “for doing their job to keep the roads safe.”
“Today, I have begun the work of talking to my family and to my Senate colleagues about the situation,” he said.
His previous arrest in Blaine in January 2022 and subsequent guilty plea came while he served in the Minnesota House of Representatives.
He was sentenced in that case after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge of driving while impaired in Anoka County District Court, and given a year of probation.
