Two men have been charged with assaulting a federal agent, resulting in an immigration officer discharging his firearm and injuring one of the men in the leg.
MINNEAPOLIS — Recently unveiled video footage is casting doubt on the federal government’s narrative surrounding an incident on January 14 in north Minneapolis where an immigration agent shot a man.
The footage, released by the city, captures a scene where an individual with a shovel stands outside a residence as a dramatic chase concludes at the block’s end.
In the video, the individual discards the shovel and dashes toward the house. Simultaneously, another person emerges from a halted vehicle, stumbling in front of the building.
Shortly thereafter, a person, presumed to be a federal agent, is seen tackling the second individual. This encounter is quickly followed by a brief scuffle involving a third person who exits the home.
The individuals involved in the incident were identified as Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis and Alfredo Alejandro Aljorna. They were accused of attacking the agent, which prompted the immigration officer to fire his weapon, injuring Sosa-Celis in the leg.
Sosa-Celis and Aljorna were charged, but Minnesota U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen later urged the court to dismiss with prejudice.
“Newly discovered evidence in this matter is materially inconsistent with the allegations in the Complaint Affidavit, filed on January 16, 2026, as ECF 1-1, as well as the preliminary-hearing testimony that was based on information presented to the Affiant,” the attorney general said.
Federal prosecutors previously laid out a timeline of the events on Jan. 14, saying two U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers were pursuing a vehicle registered to a man listed in the ICE database as being in the country illegally.
As the ICE agents initiated a traffic stop, court documents said the driver of the target vehicle drove off, launching a brief pursuit. The vehicle hit a light pole and the driver allegedly ran from the car. That driver was later identified as Aljorna, who was not the same man agents were initially targeting as the registered owner.
Court documents said later review showed Aljorna’s driver’s license photo was “similar in nature and physical appearance” to the man agents were initially targeting.
Court documents initially claimed one of the pursuing ICE agents ran after Aljorna, who slipped and fell to the ground in front of a home where Sosa-Celis was standing on the porch. The agent then allegedly attempted to detain Aljorna and the two began to struggle. An FBI agent testified in court and said the ICE officer received a gash to his hand. The agent said that during the struggle, the officer pulled his weapon and struck Sosa-Celis in the thigh.
Court documents previously alleged Sosa-Celis grabbed a broom and began striking the agent. While the video appears to show a third person entering the confrontation, it’s difficult to see if there is anything in that person’s hand.
Immediately after the shooting, DHS officials incorrectly claimed in a news release that Sosa-Celis was the driver of the vehicle being pursued by agents and “the subject of a targeted enforcement operation.”
The release also claimed “two subjects came out of a nearby apartment and attacked the law enforcement officer with a snow shovel and broom handle.” However, no such snow shovel attack is visible on video.
