A Venezuelan man shot by an ICE agent in January never attacked the agent as the Department of Homeland Security claimed, according to an explosive new court filing from the Department of Justice.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem originally claimed that Julio Sosa-Celis was shot during a Jan. 14 incident in Minneapolis, Minnesota, after he and another defendant, Alfredo Aljorna, “ambushed and attacked” the unnamed agent with snow shovels and broom handles.
“What we saw last night in Minnesota was an attempted murder of federal law enforcement,” Noem, dubbed “ICE Barbie” for her fondness of dressing up like an ICE agent, said in a Jan. 15 statement. “Fearing for his life, the officer filed a defensive shot.”
In a one-page motion seeking to have the charges dismissed, however, U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen wrote that “newly discovered evidence in this matter is materially inconsistent with the allegations” made by federal officials in both the charging document and their courtroom testimony.
The motion didn’t specify what new evidence had come to light. It asked that the felony assault charges filed against both men be dismissed with prejudice, meaning they can’t be resubmitted.
A lawyer for the two men told The New York Times in a statement that his clients were “overjoyed” by the request.
“They are so happy justice is being served by the government’s request to dismiss all charges with prejudice,” Brian D. Clark said. “The identity of the ICE agent should be made public and he should be charged for his crime.”