New Minneapolis shooting footage contradicts initial ICE account

MINNEAPOLIS (CN) — New surveillance footage released by the city of Minneapolis Monday further challenged an initial federal narrative of a Jan. 14 immigration officer-involved shooting.

The city-owned camera footage captures a man standing outside a home with a shovel as a pursuit unfolds down the block. As the chase nears, the man drops the shovel and flees toward the house, just as another individual is seen running and falling in front of the house.

Moments later, what appears to be a federal agent tackles the individual, sparking a brief physical altercation that lasts roughly 10 seconds.

Sometime during the interaction, Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, a Venezuelan national, was shot in the leg by a federal immigration officer.

The silent video provides a contrast to the initial account from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and federal officials, who described the encounter as a minuteslong assault of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer.

Shortly after the incident, DHS claimed in a news release three men “violently assaulted law enforcement with a shovel and broom handle” in an attempt to evade arrest — before an agent shot Sosa-Celis in self-defense.

Former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem quickly echoed this account in a post on X, claiming the officer was “fearing for his life” after being ambushed and attacked.

The new footage and existing court filings suggests a different reality, and further emboldens concerns that two federal officers lied under oath during sworn testimony in January.

In a court filing, Alfredo Alejandro Aljorna — the other man involved alongside Sosa-Celis — said he threw a broom in the direction of the agent, but it never made contact. He also claimed Sosa-Celis was shot while standing in the doorway “some distance away” from the ICE officer, rather than during a scuffle as the officers claimed.

The video also shows no evidence of a snow shovel attack.

Both Sosa-Celis and Aljorna were initially charged with forcibly assaulting, resisting or impeding federal officers — before the Minnesota U.S. Attorney’s Office asked a court to dismiss the charges with prejudice, meaning the government is barred from ever bringing those specific charges against the two men again.

In a brief reasoning, Minnesota U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen cited “newly discovered evidence” that contradicted the accounts in both the initial affidavit, and the preliminary hearings.

Rosen did not specify what details were inconsistent with the federal government’s claims in the motion, and it’s unclear if prosecutors ever had access to or reviewed Monday’s released footage.

A federal judge quickly granted Rosen’s request to drop charges against the two men, transitioning the focus to the inconsistencies on part of federal agents.

“A joint review by ICE and the Department of Justice of video evidence has revealed that sworn testimony provided by two separate officers appears to have made untruthful statements,” an ICE spokesperson told Courthouse News. “Both officers have been immediately placed on administrative leave pending the completion of a thorough internal investigation.”

The spokesperson said lying under oath is a serious federal offense which could result in the two agents losing their jobs, or facing criminal charges.

So far, no charges have been filed against the agents.

Sosa-Celis’ shooting is one of three incidents cited in Minnesota’s recent lawsuit against the Trump administration, in which the state claims the government withheld evidence in federal officer-involved shootings during Operation Metro Surge, including the killings of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti.

The city of Minneapolis did not respond to an initial request for comment Monday.