A man shot by an ICE agent in Minneapolis was charged with assaulting law enforcement. A startling admission ended the case
A Man Shot by an ICE Agent in Minneapolis Charged with Assaulting Law Enforcement
The Incident
Last month, Alfredo Alejandro Aljorna, a DoorDash delivery driver in Minneapolis, found himself pursued by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents during an evening shift. His attorney revealed that Aljorna drove home and was tackled by an agent but managed to escape and enter his cousin Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis’s residence. As he closed the door and attempted to secure it, Sosa-Celis claimed he was shot in the leg by an ICE officer.
The event triggered fresh protests and escalated confrontations with law enforcement, occurring just seven days after a federal agent had fatally shot Renee Good. However, the Department of Homeland Security’s initial account of the situation soon diverged from the narratives of the two men and their family members. According to DHS, Sosa-Celis was driving the vehicle and, along with Aljorna and another individual, had assaulted the agent before the officer fired his weapon.
A Shift in Narrative
The U.S. Department of Justice raised doubts about the DHS account in a January 16 court filing, which supported criminal charges against the two Venezuelan men. The DOJ stated that Aljorna was actually the one operating the car, contradicting the earlier claim. This discrepancy led to a surprising reversal when the Justice Department filed a motion on Thursday to drop the charges, citing “newly discovered evidence” that contradicted the original allegations.
“This was an absolute unreasonable use of force, and the officer was fabricating claims against my client to justify that,” said Aljorna’s attorney, Frederick J. Goetz.
The motion also highlighted that ICE agents had made “false statements” under oath, prompting the agency to place the two officers on administrative leave while the investigation continues. ICE Director Todd Lyons noted that video evidence had exposed the untruthful statements, which could result in the officers facing dismissal or criminal charges.
A Pattern of Contradictions
CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig pointed out that this case fits into a broader trend where the federal government rapidly issues accounts following shootings by its agents, only for those claims to be later proven inaccurate. Previous examples include video footage that cast doubt on the government’s version of events after the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
Similarly, prosecutors had previously dropped charges against Marimar Martinez in Chicago, who was accused of ramming a federal agent’s vehicle before being shot multiple times. A judge noted omissions in the government’s case, leading to the dismissal of Martinez’s charges. When evidence was released last week, it supported her claim that her car had been the one struck, not the agent’s. Text messages also revealed the officer bragging about the number of times he had fired at her.
DHS’s initial statement called the shooting “defensive fire,” but the shifting accounts in this case have further eroded trust in the Trump administration. Honig emphasized that the motion to dismiss charges with prejudice is a significant step, as it signifies prosecutors knowingly presented incorrect information and rules out future legal action against the men.
Lawyers for both Sosa-Celis and Aljorna praised the DOJ’s decision, describing it as “extraordinary” and “exceedingly rare.” However, CNN has yet to receive confirmation from DHS about the specific video evidence or whether they still support their original account of the incident.
