A federal judge granted the release of two Venezuelan nationals accused of assaulting a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer during a chaotic Minneapolis arrest last month, only for ICE to rearrest them this week, according to court records cited by The Minnesota Star Tribune.
Alfredo Alejandro Ajorna, 26, and Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, 24, were released on court-ordered conditions Tuesday after a judge determined they did not pose a significant flight danger, according to the outlet. Nearly immediately after the hearing, ICE apprehended the men again, and they never left the courthouse.
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According to the Tribune, attorneys for the men stated that ICE held them “without explanation” shortly after the judge’s release order, triggering a habeas corpus petition filed late Tuesday. Minnesota Chief U.S. District Judge Patrick J. Schiltz then barred ICE from removing the men from the state and asked the federal administration to explain its decision by Friday.
“This re-detention is unconstitutional, and they should be immediately released,” attorney Brian Clark wrote in the emergency habeas petition, per the outlet.
The duo was arrested following a confrontation that began on January 14 when ICE authorities attempted a targeted traffic stop in north Minneapolis, according to DHS.
According to DHS, federal agents were attempting to apprehend Sosa-Celis when he fled the scene in his vehicle, collided with a parked automobile, and escaped on foot.
According to DHS, the pursuing officer apprehended Sosa-Celis and proceeded to arrest him, at which point he allegedly began to fight and aggressively assault the officer.
As the two battled on the ground, DHS said that two people appeared from a nearby apartment and began beating the officer with a snow shovel and a broom handle. According to DHS, Sosa-Celis then broke free and allegedly assaulted the officer before the agent, afraid for his life, fired a defensive shot that struck Sosa-Celis in the leg.
Despite their injuries, DHS claims Sosa-Celis and the other two males ran into the apartment and barricaded themselves there.
According to DHS, ICE ultimately arrested and detained all three individuals. Both Sosa-Celis and the officer were taken to the hospital following the altercation.
According to the agency, the event was an “attempted murder of federal law enforcement,” with an ICE officer being ambushed and beaten with a snow shovel and broom handle before firing a defense shot that injured Sosa-Celis in the thigh.
The DHS has publicly identified three Venezuelan nationals—Sosa-Celis, Ajorna, and Gabriel Alejandro Hernandez-Ledezma—as the suspects who allegedly assaulted the ICE agent and were taken into federal custody following the Jan. 14 incident.
According to the Tribune, the federal affidavit in the case contains no mention of Hernandez-Ledezma, and he has not been charged with any federal crimes. The publication reported that he is being held at a federal detention center in Texas and that it was unable to independently confirm his existence or involvement in the case.
According to the Tribune, defense attorneys told the court that photographic evidence and witness accounts raise doubts about the time and circumstances of the gunshot, including allegations that the shot was fired after the suspects had entered a home.
“We believe the case involves an unreasonable use of deadly force by a federal agent and a false factual narrative to justify a shooting that should never have happened,” attorneys Frederick J. Goetz and Robin Wolpert said. “Mr. Aljorna and Mr. Sosa-Celis have faith in the United States justice system and look forward to the opportunity to present their case in federal court.”
