Federal immigration authorities have opened an internal investigation into two U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers accused of providing false sworn testimony following the January shooting of a Venezuelan national during an enforcement operation in Minneapolis.
Todd Lyons, the acting director of ICE, announced that the officers were placed on administrative leave after video footage emerged that appeared to contradict statements they made under oath about the circumstances surrounding the incident.
The case has drawn heightened scrutiny amid shifting official accounts and the recent dismissal of federal assault charges linked to the episode.
“Video evidence has revealed that sworn testimony provided by two separate officers appears to have made untruthful statements,” Lyons said in a written statement. “Both officers have been immediately placed on administrative leave pending the completion of a thorough internal investigation.
Lying under oath is a serious federal offense.” He added that ICE personnel are “entrusted with upholding the rule of law” and that violations of sworn duties would not be tolerated.
The investigation follows a decision by federal prosecutors in Minnesota to drop criminal charges against two men initially accused of assaulting ICE agents during the confrontation.
Court filings submitted by U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen cited “newly discovered evidence” that prosecutors said was “materially inconsistent” with the allegations outlined in the original complaint.
The charges had been filed against Alfredo Alejandro Aljorna and Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis after a Jan. 14 enforcement action near North Sixth Street and North 24th Avenue in Minneapolis, where an ICE officer shot Sosa-Celis in the leg.
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Authorities at the time said the shooting occurred during an operation connected to a broader federal initiative targeting immigration violations.
The incident unfolded against a tense backdrop in Minneapolis, where community anger had already been elevated following a separate fatal shooting involving a federal agent roughly a week earlier. Local officials and residents demanded clearer explanations from federal authorities after conflicting accounts of the January encounter quickly circulated.
Initial statements issued by the Department of Homeland Security described Sosa-Celis as fleeing from agents, crashing a vehicle into a parked car, and attempting to escape on foot.
According to that account, an officer caught up with him and was then assaulted. DHS said two additional individuals emerged from a nearby apartment and attacked the officer using a snow shovel and a broom handle, prompting the officer to fire what officials described as a defensive shot after fearing for his life.
However, subsequent court documents presented a different sequence of events. In an affidavit supporting the criminal complaint, the Federal Bureau of Investigation stated that Aljorna — not Sosa-Celis — was the individual who fled in a vehicle.
The filing further alleged that Sosa-Celis struck an officer with a broomstick while agents attempted to detain Aljorna, and that Aljorna later joined the confrontation after breaking free.
The affidavit also noted that the officer involved reported difficulty identifying individuals during the incident because of “poor or sporadic lighting,” adding that visibility conditions complicated the officer’s perception of events.
Questions surrounding the accuracy of those claims intensified after cellphone and surveillance footage surfaced publicly.
Video shared by Minnesota Democratic state Senator Erin Maye Quade showed a woman calling emergency services shortly after the shooting, saying her husband had been pursued by immigration agents and was shot outside his home in front of family members. The footage contributed to competing narratives about how the confrontation began and whether force was justified.
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Defense attorneys for the two men said the newly reviewed video evidence contradicted the government’s earlier version of events.
Frederick Goetz, representing Aljorna, said surveillance recordings were inconsistent with agents’ descriptions of being assaulted. “It is my understanding that the video surveillance evidence that captured the incident was materially inconsistent with the federal agent’s claims of what happened; i.e. the agent’s claims of being assaulted were not backed up by the video evidence,” he said.
Robin Wolpert, attorney for Sosa-Celis, welcomed the investigation, saying federal authorities were now publicly acknowledging concerns about the officers’ testimony. “I am glad to see that ICE and the DOJ are publicly acknowledging and investigating untruthful statements by the two ICE officers,” she said.
Federal prosecutors moved to dismiss the assault charges one day before Lyons’ announcement, signaling a significant shift in the government’s handling of the case.
Court records do not detail the full scope of the newly uncovered evidence, and officials have not publicly released the video material referenced in filings.
ICE said its internal inquiry will examine whether the officers violated agency policies or federal law by providing inaccurate testimony.
Administrative leave is a standard procedure during investigations involving potential misconduct and does not itself constitute disciplinary action.
The Department of Justice has not announced any additional charges or investigative steps beyond the dismissal of the original case. Officials have also not clarified whether revised findings will alter the broader federal operation underway in Minneapolis at the time of the shooting.
Sosa-Celis survived the gunshot wound, and no further injuries were reported during the encounter.
