MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Federal prosecutors in Minneapolis have moved to drop felony assault charges against two Venezuelan men, one of whom was shot in the leg by an immigration officer, after new evidence emerged that undermined 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 Arjona and Julio Cesar Sosa-Sellis is “severely inconsistent with the charges” against them in criminal complaints and court hearings last month.
The government’s motion asks the judge to “dismiss with prejudice,” meaning the charges against the two men cannot be refiled.
It follows a series of high-profile shootings of federal immigration agents, with eyewitness testimony and video evidence casting doubt on the use of deadly force. Dozens of felony cases have also failed against protesters accused of assaulting or obstructing federal officers.
The case at issue in Thursday’s filing stems from a Jan. 14 incident when U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers attempted to conduct a traffic stop on a vehicle driven by Aljorna, who crashed the vehicle and fled on foot to an apartment complex, an FBI investigator said in a deposition. The government alleges that Arjona began to resist violently when an immigration officer chased him and attempted to arrest him.
As the officer and Aljona struggled on the ground, Sosa-Sellis and another man emerged from a nearby apartment and attacked the officer with a snow shovel and a broom handle, the complaint states. The officer, who was not named in court documents, then opened fire, striking Sosa-Sellis in the right thigh. The men then fled into a nearby apartment and were later arrested.
The day after the shooting, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem used the incident to attack Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, accusing Democrats of “encouraging obstruction and attacks on our law enforcement, which is a federal crime, a felony.”
“What we saw last night in Minneapolis was an attempted murder of a federal law enforcement officer,” Noem said in a Jan. 15 statement. “Our officer was ambushed and attacked by three men who beat him with a snow shovel and a broom handle. Fearing for his life, the officer fired his weapon in defense.”
Thursday’s one-page motion seeking to dismiss the charges did not detail what new evidence had emerged, but cracks began to appear in the government’s case during a Jan. 21 court hearing to determine whether the defendants can be released pending trial.
In court, ICE officers’ description of the moments leading up to the shooting differed significantly from testimony from the two defendants and three other witnesses. ICE officers’ claims of being attacked with brooms and snow shovels also have not been corroborated by available video evidence.
Arjona and Sosa-Sellis denied attacking the agents with brooms or snow shovels. Neither the video evidence nor the testimony of neighbors and the pair’s romantic partners supported the agents’ claims that he was attacked with a broom or shovel, or that a third person was involved.
Arjona’s attorney, Frederick Goetz, said Arjona had a broom in his hand and threw it at the agents as they ran toward the house. Sosa-Sellis was armed with a shovel but was retreating into the home when police shot him, Sosa-Sellis’ attorney, Robin Wolpert, said. Lawyers for both men said prosecutors’ entire case relied on the testimony of the agent who fired the shots.
Neither Arjona nor Sosa-Sellis have violent criminal records. Their attorneys said the pair had been working as DoorDash delivery drivers at night to avoid confrontations with federal agents.
After Arjona and Sosa-Sellis retreated to a nearby house, they and their family sealed the upstairs door to prevent federal agents from entering, according to FBI agents. He added that federal officers then used tear gas to try to force the family out of their home. Arjona and Sosa-Sellis later turned themselves in to authorities out of concern for the safety of two children under the age of 2 in the home.
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Bizek reported from Washington.