US officials investigate whether ICE agents lied about Minneapolis shooting | ICE (US Immigration and Customs Enforcement)
Federal authorities have opened a criminal investigation into whether two immigration officers lied under oath about last month’s shooting in Minneapolis; All charges against two Venezuelan men were dropped.
ICE Director Todd Lyons said Friday that his agency had launched a joint investigation with the Justice Department after video evidence of the shooting of a Venezuelan man during the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigrants in the Minneapolis area revealed that “sworn testimony by two separate officers contained untrue statements.”
He said the officers, whose names were not released, are on administrative leave while the investigation continues. Lyons said the two ICE officers could be fired and face criminal charges.
“Lying under oath is a serious federal crime,” Lyons said, adding that the U.S. attorney’s office is actively investigating.
“The men and women of ICE are charged with upholding the rule of law and are held to the highest standards of professionalism, integrity and ethical conduct,” Lyons said.
“Violations of this sacred oath will not be tolerated. ICE remains fully committed to transparency, accountability and the fair enforcement of our nation’s immigration laws.”
Earlier Friday, US district court Judge Paul A Magnuson dismissed aggravated assault charges against Alfredo Alejandro Aljorna and Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, who were accused of beating an ICE officer with a broom handle and snow shovel during a brawl in January. The officer fired a single shot from his pistol, striking Sosa-Celis in the right thigh.
The cases were dismissed after a highly unusual motion to dismiss by U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota Daniel N. Rosen, who said “newly discovered evidence” was “materially inconsistent with the allegations” made against the two men in last month’s criminal complaint and trial.
The reversal follows a series of high-profile shootings involving federal immigration officers in which eyewitness accounts and video evidence have challenged claims justifying the use of deadly force. Dozens of felony cases against protesters accused of attacking or obstructing federal officers also collapsed.
The immigration attorney representing Aljorna and Sosa-Celis said they were “very pleased” that all charges were dismissed. If convicted, the two immigrants would have spent years in federal prison.
“The charges against them were based on the lies of an ICE agent who recklessly shot through a closed door into their home,” said lawyer Brian D Clark. “They are very happy that justice has been served.”
It is unclear whether the men can still be deported.
Last month, an FBI investigator said in a now-discredited court affidavit that ICE officers attempted a traffic stop on a vehicle Aljorna was driving on Jan. 14. He crashed his vehicle and fled on foot towards the apartment duplex where he lived. According to the government, Aljorna violently resisted arrest and was pursued by an immigration officer.
The complaint alleged that while the officer and Aljorna were struggling on the ground, Sosa-Celis and another man attacked the officer with a snow shovel and a broom handle. The police officer, who is not named in court records, fired his gun and attacked Sosa-Celis. The men entered an apartment building and were eventually arrested.
Following the shooting, Kristi Noem attacked Minnesota governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey, accusing Democrats of “encouraging assault and obstruction of 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 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.”
The Department of Homeland Security did not respond Friday to questions about whether Noem stands by those statements, which ICE, which is part of DHS, now admits to be false.
Robin M Wolpert, Sosa-Celis’ defense attorney in the criminal case, said he was pleased that ICE and the justice department publicly acknowledged and investigated the false statements of the two ICE officers.
“These untrue statements had serious consequences for my client and his family,” Wolpert said. “My client is a crime victim.”
