MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Federal prosecutors in Minneapolis have moved to drop felony assault charges against two Venezuelan men, including one shot in the leg by a immigration officer, after new evidence emerged undercutting the government’s version of events.
In a filing Thursday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota said “newly discovered evidence” in the criminal case against Alfredo Alejandro Aljorna and Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis “is materially inconsistent with the allegations against them” made in a criminal complaint and a court hearing last month.
The government’s motion asked the judge for “dismissal with prejudice,” meaning the charges against the two men cannot be resubmitted.
The pending dismissal comes after a string of high-profile shootings involving federal immigration agents where eyewitness statements and video evidence called into question claims made to justify using deadly force. Dozens of felony cases against protestors accused of assaulting or impeding federal officers have also crumbled.
The case at issue in Thursday’s filing stemmed from a Jan. 14 incident during which an FBI investigator said in an affidavit that U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officers attempted to conduct a traffic stop on a vehicle driven by Aljorna, who crashed and fled on foot toward an apartment complex. As an immigration officer chased and tried to arrest him, the government claimed Aljorna began to violently resist.
As the officer and Aljorna struggled on the ground, Sosa-Celis and another man came out of a nearby apartment and attacked the officer with a snow shovel and a broom handle, according to the complaint. The officer, who was not named in court filings, then fired his handgun, striking Sosa-Celis in the upper right thigh. The men then fled into a nearby apartment, where they were later arrested.
The day after the shooting, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem used the incident to attack Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, accusing the Democrats of “encouraging impeding and assault against our law enforcement which is a federal crime, a felony.”
“What we saw last night in Minneapolis was an attempted murder of federal law enforcement,” Noem said in a Jan. 15 statement. “Our officer was ambushed and attacked by three individuals who beat him with snow shovels and the handles of brooms. Fearing for his life, the officer fired a defensive shot.”
Thursday’s one-page motion seeking to dismiss the charges did not detail what new evidence had emerged, but cracks began to appear in the government’s case during a Jan. 21 court hearing to determine whether the accused men could be released pending trial.
In court, the ICE officer’s account of the moments before the shooting differed significantly from testimony from the two defendants and three other eyewitnesses. The ICE officer’s account of being assaulted with a broom and snow shovel was also not corroborated by the available video evidence.
Aljorna and Sosa-Celis denied assaulting the agent with a broom or snow shovel. Neither video evidence nor testimony from a neighbor and the two men’s romantic partners supported the agent’s account that he had been attacked with a broom or shovel or that there had been a third person involved.
Aljorna’s attorney Frederick Goetz said Aljorna had a broomstick in his hand and had thrown it at the agent as he ran towards the house. Sosa-Celis’ attorney Robin Wolpert said he had been holding a shovel but was retreating into the home when the officer fired, wounding him. The men’s attorneys said that the entirety of the prosecution’s case relied on testimony from the agent who fired the gun.
Neither Aljorna and Sosa-Celis had violent criminal records. Both had been working as DoorDash delivery drivers at night in an attempt to avoid encounters with federal agents, their attorneys said.
After Aljorna and Sosa-Celis retreated into a nearby home, they and their families barricaded the upstairs door to prevent federal agents from entering, according to the FBI agent. Federal officers then used tear gas to try to force the family out of their home, he added. Out of concern for the safety of two children inside the home — both under the age of 2 — Aljorna and Sosa-Celis then turned themselves over to authorities.
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Biesecker reported from Washington.
