A state senator from Maplewood was arrested on suspicion of driving while impaired early Thursday morning. It’s his second drunken driving arrest while serving in the Minnesota Legislature.
Sen. Tou Xiong, DFL-Maplewood, was booked into the Ramsey County jail just before 4 a.m. Thursday on suspicion of third-degree DWI. He was released after 6:30 a.m. and has not yet been charged with a crime.
The Minnesota State Patrol said a trooper stopped a Honda CR-V on U.S. Highway 36 near McKnight Road in Maplewood around 2:40 a.m. Thursday, after noticing the vehicle was weaving in its lane and failing to use a signal.
Xiong gave a breath test that estimated his blood alcohol content was 0.09, the patrol said. The legal limit to drive in Minnesota is 0.08.
In a statement provided by the Senate Democratic-Farmer-Labor caucus, Xiong said police pulled him over near his home while he was driving back from a family gathering.
“I take full responsibility for my actions, and sincerely apologize to my constituents and the people I’ve let down,” Xiong said. “I want to thank 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.”
Tou Xiong, a state Representative from Maplewood, was arrested on Jan. 8, 2022, and accused of driving while impaired. (Courtesy of Anoka County Sheriff’s Office)
Xiong represents Senate District 44, which includes Little Canada, North St. Paul Oakdale and parts of Maplewood. He was elected to the district in 2022.
Xiong, who is serving his first term in the Minnesota Senate, was charged with DWI in 2022 while serving his second term as a state representative.
In January of that year, a Blaine police officer pulled Xiong over and found his blood alcohol content was 0.11. After news reports emerged of his charges, Xiong said he had made a “terrible mistake.”
As part of a plea agreement, Xiong pleaded guilty to having a blood alcohol concentration above 0.08 within two hours of being pulled over.
The Anoka County judge allowed a fourth-degree DWI charge to be dismissed, gave Xiong a year of probation, and ordered him to pay a $288 fine, according to court records.
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