Prosecutors move to dismiss charges against men accused of hitting ICE officer with broom and shovel
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Federal prosecutors in Minneapolis moved to drop aggravated assault charges against two Venezuelan men, including one who was shot in the leg by an immigration officer, after new evidence emerged that refuted the government’s version of events.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota said in a filing Thursday that “newly discovered evidence” in the criminal case against Alfredo Alejandro Aljorna and Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis is “materially inconsistent with the allegations made against them” in the criminal complaint and court hearing filed last month.
The government’s motion asked the judge to be “dismissed with prejudice”; This means the charges against the two men cannot be re-filed.
The pending layoff comes after a series of processes high profile shootings eyewitness statements and video evidence interrogated Allegations justifying the use of lethal force. dozens of Criminal cases against protesters Charges of assaulting or obstructing federal officers also collapsed.
The case at issue in Thursday’s filing stemmed from a Jan. 14 incident in which an FBI investigator said in an affidavit that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers attempted a traffic stop on a vehicle Aljorna was driving, but Aljorna crashed and fled on foot toward an apartment complex. As an immigration officer chased and attempted to arrest him, the government alleged that Aljorna began violently resisting.
While the officer and Aljorna struggled on the ground, Sosa-Celis and another man emerged from a nearby apartment and attacked the officer with a snow shovel and a broom handle, according to the complaint. The officer, who is not named in court records, then fired his handgun, striking Sosa-Celis in the upper right thigh. The men then fled to a nearby apartment and were arrested there.
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 Democrats of “inciting obstruction and assault against our law enforcement officers, which is a federal crime, a felony.”
“What we saw last night in Minneapolis was an attempted murder of federal law enforcement officers,” Noem said in a Jan. 15 statement. “Our police officer was ambushed and attacked by three people who beat him with snow shovels and broom handles. Fearing for his life, the police officer opened fire in defense.”
Thursday’s one-page motion to dismiss the charges did not detail the new evidence, but cracks began to appear in the government’s case during a Jan. 21 hearing to determine whether the defendants could be released pending trial.
In court, the ICE officer’s testimony about the moments before the shooting differed significantly from the testimony of the two defendants and three other eyewitnesses. The IYM officer’s statement that he was attacked with a broom and snow shovel was also not supported by the available video evidence.
Aljorna and Sosa-Celis denied attacking the agent with a broom or snow shovel. Neither the video evidence nor the statements of a neighbor and the two men’s romantic partners supported the agent’s statement that he was attacked with a broom or shovel or that a third party was involved.
Aljorna’s attorney, Frederick Goetz, said Aljorna had a broom in his hand and threw it at the agent as he ran toward the house. Sosa-Celis’ attorney, Robin Wolpert, said he had a shovel in his hand but was retreating toward the house when the officer fired, wounding him. The men’s lawyers said the prosecution’s entire case rested on the testimony of the agent who fired the gun.
Aljorna and Sosa-Celis did not have violent criminal records. Both worked nights as DoorDash delivery drivers to avoid encounters with federal agents, their lawyers said.
After retreating to a nearby home, Aljorna and Sosa-Celis barricaded the upstairs door with their family to prevent federal agents from entering, according to the FBI agent. Federal officers then used tear gas to force the family out of their home, the official added. Aljorna and Sosa-Celis turned themselves in to authorities, fearing for the safety of the two children in the home, both under the age of 2.
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Biesecker reported from Washington.
