As St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her remains under investigation over allegations that she sexually harassed city employees, Minnesota Star Tribune columnist Rochelle Olson is urging the public to pump the brakes on rushing to judgment.
In a column published Wednesday, Olson argued the public has seen only “one-sided allegations,” questioned whether Her is being unfairly targeted and ultimately concluded, “I’m still standing with Her.”
“I’d urge calm and caution,” Olson wrote. “The letter’s contents are one-sided allegations, not proof of misconduct.”
Olson said she has “a hard time believing that” Her is “the one who turned things trashy at police headquarters.”
Instead, Olson suggested Her may be paying the political price for inheriting a police chief she did not appoint while simultaneously scrutinizing the department’s finances as the city confronts a $26 million budget deficit.
“Maybe the timing is coincidental, or maybe it’s a coordinated campaign against Her,” Olson wrote. “The mayor’s been busy digging into the crannies of city finances, including the Police Department budget, which will not be spared.”
Olson wrote that Her’s limited public response should not be viewed as an admission of wrongdoing but rather as respect for the investigative process.
The columnist acknowledged that some of the allegations “don’t look great” but concluded readers should reserve judgment until the independent investigation is complete.
“Much is murky in this conflict, and maybe I’ll be proven wrong,” Olson wrote. “But for now, I’m still standing with Her.”
Olson’s column did not sit well with Chris Madel, the attorney representing St. Paul Police Chief Axel Henry, who filed a sexual harassment complaint against the mayor.
Within hours of publication, Madel launched a lengthy series of posts on X accusing Olson of ignoring key facts, minimizing allegations against the mayor and presenting readers with an incomplete picture of the investigation.
Altered images
Madel responded to Olson’s discussion of the “Weiner Wednesday” gathering at police headquarters, in which she questioned whether it was really Her, rather than the “nature of the gathering itself,” that had “sexualized” the weekly hot dog lunch.
“So the fact that ‘Weiner Wednesday’ existed is license for the Mayor to forward an altered meme, with a St. Paul Police officer’s face, and say this is what you look like after ‘you gave her a good weinering’?” Madel wrote.
In her latest “column,” Lazy Rochelle argues we should be suspicious of Chief Henry’s complaint against Mayor Her. Her thesis is that maybe Chief Henry made the allegations because of budgetary reasons. This could not be further from the truth. Chief Henry is a dedicated public…
— Chris Madel (@CWMadel) August 5, 2026
Madel has previously said the altered meme depicted the face of a St. Paul police officer. He then argued Olson’s perspective would be different if the roles were reversed and a male elected official had sent a similar message depicting a female employee.
“I’d love to see what Lazy Rochelle would say if Mayor Frey, or God forbid Tom Emmer or Pete Stauber, sent the same thing to a woman,” he wrote. “It’s funny how ‘believe all survivors’ becomes ‘let’s wait for all the facts’ the second the accuser is a man and the accused is a woman with a (D) next to her name.”
Madel later sought to illustrate his point by posting what appeared to be an edited version of the same meme, replacing the redacted police officer’s face with Olson’s.
Madel also pointed to other images Her allegedly altered, arguing Olson failed to mention allegations that the mayor used AI to create an image placing the faces of St. Paul police officers onto the bodies of muscular UFC fighters, which was later displayed at police headquarters.
“How would Lazy Rochelle feel if a male Star Tribune editor did the same thing with Lazy Rochelle’s face on an athletic woman’s body and put it on the wall at the Star Tribune?” he wrote. “And did Lazy Rochelle mention how the Mayor (oddly) put her own picture over all of the Deputy Chiefs at the St. Paul Police Department? Nope.”
Gym and locker room allegations
Madel criticized Olson’s assertion that “anyone with a workout pal knows there are few bodily secrets in the gym or the locker room,” referring to allegations that Her commented on a deputy chief’s breasts in the locker room and made sexually suggestive noises while working out in the police gym.
“Do ‘few bodily secrets at the gym’ include someone moaning like they are having an orgasm at the gym?” he wrote. “Do you do that at the gym? Please send me the video. I’ll pay you $100.”
He also said Olson failed to mention allegations that the deputy chief whose breasts Her allegedly commented on retired early following the mayor’s alleged conduct.
“I guess the notion of a decorated woman law-enforcement officer having to retire early due to hostile, sexualized conduct is not even worth the mention,” he wrote.
Cites Alpha News reporting
Madel also pointed to Alpha News’ reporting published Tuesday, which detailed text messages in which Her wrote that men she encountered through her political and professional life “end up falling in love with me so I have to set very clear boundaries.”
“Did @rochelleolson mention how @AlphaNews wrote an article about the Mayor’s texts yesterday? … Nope,” Madel wrote.
He argued Olson omitted the fact that the text messages had been submitted as exhibits in support of a harassment restraining order petition, contending they reflected a broader pattern of alleged conduct.
Madel also reiterated a point he said he has made repeatedly during recent radio appearances — that the public has not yet heard the full story.
“AND I KEEP SAYING THIS, BUT ALL OF THE FACTS HAVE NOT COME OUT,” he wrote. “But does Lazy Rochelle acknowledge that? Nope. That would require work.”
Madel ended the thread by accusing Olson of poor journalism.
“Please always remember: reading [Rochelle Olson] is a reminder that confidence and competence are not the same thing,” Madel wrote. “The only predictable thing about a Lazy Rochelle column is that the next one will be worse.”
Alpha News reached out to Olson for comment regarding Madel’s criticism. Olson declined to comment.
Jenna Gloeb
Jenna Gloeb is an Edward R. Murrow Award-winning journalist, media producer, public speaker, and screenwriter. Most recently, she worked as a reporter and on-air host for CCX Media. Jenna is a Minnesota native and resides in the Twin Cities with her husband, son, daughter, and two dogs.
