(AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A federal judge in Minneapolis on Friday ordered the dismissal of felony assault charges against two Venezuelan men, including one shot in the leg by an immigration officer, after evidence emerged undercutting the government’s version of events.
In a highly unusual motion to dismiss filed Thursday, U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota Daniel N. Rosen said “newly discovered evidence” in the case against Alfredo Alejandro Aljorna and Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis “is materially inconsistent with the allegations” made against them in a criminal complaint and at a hearing last month.
U.S. District Court Judge Paul A. Magnuson dismissed the case with prejudice, meaning the charges cannot be resubmitted.
The dismissal follows a string of high-profile shootings involving federal immigration agents in which eyewitness statements and video evidence have called into question claims made to justify using deadly force. Dozens of felony cases against protesters accused of assaulting or impeding federal officers have also crumbled.
A lawyer for Aljorna and Sosa-Celis said Friday that they are “overjoyed” that all the charges have been dismissed. Had they been convicted, the two immigrants would have faced years in federal prison.
“The charges against them were based on lies by an ICE agent who recklessly shot into their home through a closed door,” said attorney Brian D. Clark. “They are so happy justice is being served.”
It is unclear whether the men could still be deported.
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