Breaking down claim Walz administration hired convicted felon for high position in MN education department

In late June 2025, a claim circulated online that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz's administration hired a convicted felon, Wilson Tindi, to a high-ranking position in the state's education department.

For example, a Facebook post (archived) that had been shared more than 7,500 times as of this writing read: 

Tim Walz administration hired migrant convicted of s*xual assault to high ranking position in Minnesota Department of Education.

A Kenyan national, who was previously convicted of a serious sexual offense, was given a high-ranking position within the Minnesota Department of Education, which operates under the Tim Walz administration, raising questions about the state's hiring practices and immigration enforcement.

Wilson Tindi, who serves as the Director of Internal Audit and Advisory Services, was convicted in 2016 of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct for assaulting a woman in her home, according to court records.

The post included an AI image of Walz, Tindi's mug shot featuring him in an orange corrections vest and screenshots of court documents.

(Facebook)

Similar posts appeared elsewhere on Facebook (archived) and on X (archived). The rumor appeared to originate from an article by Alpha News, a right-wing Minnesota media outlet, which published (archived) a story featuring the assertion on June 30, 2025.

In short, the claim contained both accurate and misleading elements. While Tindi was promoted to a director position in the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) under the Walz administration, he was initially hired by the state for a different position before Walz took office. The timeline of these events is outlined below.

Criminal conviction confirmed

Court records confirmed that Wilson Nduri Tindi, a 42-year-old citizen of Kenya who holds U.S. permanent residency, was convicted of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct in February 2016. 

According to the plea hearing transcript, Tindi admitted to having nonconsensual sexual contact with a sleeping woman on Nov. 23, 2014, after breaking into her home. He was sentenced to two years in prison, which was stayed, and placed on five years of probation. He was also ordered to serve 210 days in the county workhouse and to register as a predatory offender.

Court documents also referenced a similar 2012 allegation that was not formally charged but was introduced as evidence of a pattern of behavior.

Tindi hired by state government before Walz's first term

According to Minnesota's state employee payroll data and governor office news releases, the Minnesota government hired Tindi before Walz became governor, as outlined below. However, he was later promoted during Walz's second term:

• Sept. 5, 2018: Tindi was hired as an auditor principal at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) (this can be seen in state employee payroll data for FY2019)
• Jan. 7, 2019: Walz was sworn in (archived) as Minnesota's 41st governor
• April 19, 2021: Tindi took on a part-time position with the state's health department while maintaining his full-time role at MPCA (both of these can be seen in state employee payroll data for FY2021)
• Jan. 2, 2023: Walz was sworn in for his second term as Minnesota governor
• Dec. 20, 2023: Tindi was promoted to agency internal audit manager at MPCA (this can be seen in state employee payroll data for FY2024)

At no point during the above timeline was Tindi working for the MDE. However, according to an archived version of the department's website, Tindi was described as the director of internal audit and advisory services. It was not clear when this webpage was published, and it has since been removed.

The MDE later confirmed via email that Tindi is no longer employed by the department. Sam Snuggerud, director of communications for the MDE, said Tindi "was a probationary employee in an internal role for approximately two and a half months," with his employment spanning from April 9, 2025, to June 27. According to the department: "He did not interact with students, visit schools, or have access to private student data."

Nonetheless, Tindi was indeed promoted to a director position at the department under the Walz administration, but the state government initially hired him before Walz's first term. 

Background check questions remain unanswered

At the time of his initial state hiring in September 2018, Tindi was a convicted felon, still on probation and a registered predatory offender. 

Court records showed that he had filed a request for discharge from probation in February 2018, which was denied in May 2018, roughly four months before he was hired as an auditor principal by the MPCA. In July 2019, while he was working for the state government, his probation officer recommended early discharge, noting that he had "successfully completed all probation conditions." The judge granted this request in September 2019. Therefore, this shows that he was still on probation for a period of time while working at the MPCA.

In response to questions about hiring procedures, MDE Commissioner Willie Jett II explained in a July 3, 2025 letter to Minnesota State Rep. Kristin Robbins that the state's Criminal Offender Rehabilitation Act (CORA) significantly limits how public employers can use criminal background check results:

It does not allow a public employer to disqualify a prospective employee because of a prior conviction of a crime or crimes, unless the crime(s) directly relate to the position and may still not disqualify the individual if the person can show competent evidence of sufficient rehabilitation and present fitness to perform the duties of the position sought.

Jett's letter referenced a recent court case illustrating these legal constraints:

For example, in McNitt v. Minnesota IT Services, 14 N.W.3d 284, 286 (Minn. Ct. App. 2024), review granted (Feb. 18, 2025), the Court of Appeals found that MNIT could not disqualify a finalist for a web developer role embedded within MDE on the basis of a 2017 conviction for possessing child pornography.

The commissioner noted key differences between types of public employers, explaining that school districts are exempt from rules that limit how criminal histories can be used in hiring decisions under the CORA. The MDE, by contrast, is not exempt from those restrictions — meaning it cannot automatically disqualify applicants based solely on their criminal history.

When Snopes contacted the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) about whether the MDE or the MPCA had ever requested or received a background check on Tindi, spokesperson Jill Oliveira responded via email, saying that "whether a background check was requested on a job applicant is private personnel data pursuant to Minnesota Statute 13.43, subdivision 4." Commissioner Jett similarly stated that "whether a background check was conducted on an individual is not public data."

This response highlighted the challenge in determining what screening procedures, if any, were followed during Tindi's initial hiring and his subsequent promotions to higher positions.

Snopes contacted the MPCA about its hiring processes but had not yet received any response as of this writing.

Recent developments

Following media attention in late June 2025, Tindi's biography was removed from the MDE website. The archived version was captured on internet archiving tool Wayback Machine on June 17, 2025.

(Hennepin County Sheriff's Office)

According to Minnesota jail records (shown above), Tindi was arrested on June 7, 2025, by the Golden Valley Police Department. He was charged with four offenses, including refusing to submit to a chemical test, driving under the influence of alcohol and failing to drive in a single lane and driving while intoxicated, the latter of which he was formally charged with.