In a significant development, federal authorities revealed an investigation on Friday targeting two immigration officers suspected of providing false testimony under oath concerning a recent shooting incident in Minneapolis. This comes amidst a series of similar cases where initial accounts by immigration officials were later disputed by video evidence.
One such incident involved the tragic shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, where footage from bystanders quickly cast doubt on the official narratives provided by the officers involved. This pattern of discrepancies between initial reports and video evidence has raised serious concerns about the integrity of these accounts.
The investigation was announced just hours after a federal judge took the unusual step of dismissing felony assault charges against two Venezuelan men. These men had been accused of attacking an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer with a broom handle and a snow shovel on January 14. The officer, whose identity remains undisclosed in court documents, discharged his firearm, hitting one of the men, Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, in the thigh.
Prosecutors, in a rare move, requested the dismissal of the charges against the men. They acknowledged that new video evidence emerged, contradicting the allegations initially presented in the criminal complaint and during a hearing the previous month.
This recent turn of events spotlights the evolving narrative surrounding these incidents. Below is a closer examination of how each of the five shootings, including the non-fatal shooting of Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, was initially described and the revelations that followed.
Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis non-fatal shooting
Date and location: Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis
What federal officials said initially: Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the immigration officer was “ambushed” by Sosa-Celis and others, and fired a “defensive shot” out of fear for his life. “What we saw last night in Minneapolis was an attempted murder of federal law enforcement,” she said.
What came out later: Investigators have not released the new evidence that led charges to be dropped, but cracks were already apparent in a Jan. 21 court hearing. The immigration officer’s testimony recounting the moments before the shooting differed significantly from that of the defendants and three eyewitnesses. Available video evidence did not support the officer’s account of being assaulted with a broom and shovel.
Renee Good fatal shooting
Date and location: Jan. 7, 2026, in Minneapolis
What federal officials said initially: Noem described the incident as an “act of domestic terrorism” carried out against ICE officers by a woman who “attempted to run them over and rammed them with her vehicle.” She said the immigration agent shot “defensively” to protect himself and the people around him. Good died of gunshot wounds to the head.
What came out later: Videos filmed from multiple angles challenged the administration’s narrative. Shortly before the shooting Good is seen at the wheel of her SUV that is parked diagonally on a street. She tells an immigration officer, “I’m not mad at you.”
Seconds later, another immigration officer grabs at the driver’s side door while Good’s wife urges her to “drive, baby, drive.” It’s unclear in the videos if the SUV makes contact with ICE officer Jonathan Ross, who shoots while standing in front of the vehicle and then twice more while quickly moving to the driver’s side of the SUV as it pulls forward.
Alex Pretti fatal shooting
Date and location: Jan. 24, 2026, in Minneapolis
What federal officials said initially: Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said Pretti approached Border Patrol officers with a handgun and he “violently resisted” when they tried to disarm him. An agent feared for his life and fired defensive shots, she said. Pretti was pronounced dead at the scene. Border Patrol senior official Greg Bovino claimed Pretti intended to “massacre law enforcement,” and Deputy White House chief of staff Stephen Miller described him as “a would-be assassin.”
What came out later: None of the half-dozen bystander videos collected by investigators showed Pretti brandishing his gun, which he had a permit to carry. The videos showed Pretti was holding his mobile phone as a masked Border Patrol officer opened fire.
In a tense hearing Thursday in Washington, Republican U.S. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky made leaders tasked with carrying out Trump’s mass deportation agenda watch a video of the shooting while he repeatedly scrutinized the forceful tactics used by immigration agents. Paul argued that Pretti posed no threat to the agents and said it was clear from the video that he was “retreating at every moment.”
Silverio Villegas González fatal shooting
Date and location: Sept. 12, 2025, in suburban Chicago
What federal officials said initially: Homeland Security officials said federal agents were pursuing a man with a history of reckless driving who entered the country illegally. They alleged Silverio Villegas González drove at officers and dragged one with his car. DHS said the officer fired because he feared for his life and was hospitalized with “serious injuries.”
What came out later: Body camera videos from local police contradicted the Trump administration’s account. Footage showed the agent who shot Villegas González walking around afterward and dismissing his own injuries as “nothing major.”
An autopsy made public in November declared Villegas González’s death a homicide. The report showed he was shot at “close range,” with wounds to his neck and fingers.
Marimar Martinez non-fatal shooting
Date and location: Oct. 14, 2025, in Chicago
What federal officials said initially: A DHS news release asserted that Martinez and the driver of another car involved in a crash with a Border Patrol officer were “domestic terrorists.” An FBI agent said in court documents that she was chasing the Border Patrol vehicle and drove at one of the officers after they got out of the vehicle. The officer was forced to open fire, the FBI agent alleged, striking Martinez seven times. She was treated at a hospital and arrested on felony assault charges.
What came out later: Videos emerged that Martinez’s attorneys said showed agent Charles Exum steering his SUV into her truck.
In a text message presented during a Nov. 5 hearing, Exum appeared to brag about his marksmanship. “I fired 5 rounds and she had 7 holes. Put that in your book boys,” the text read.
The case against her was dismissed.
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