ICE re-arrests two Venezuelan men after federal judge's release order
Two Venezuelan nationals accused of assaulting a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer during a chaotic Minneapolis arrest last month were ordered released by a federal judge this week, only for ICE to re-arrest them, according to court records cited by The Minnesota Star Tribune.
Alfredo Alejandro Ajorna, 26, and Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, 24, were released under court-ordered conditions Tuesday after a judge found they did not pose a heightened flight risk, the outlet reported. The men were re-detained by ICE almost immediately after the hearing and never left the courthouse before agents took them back into custody.
The Tribune reported that attorneys for the men said ICE detained them "without explanation" shortly after the judge’s release order, prompting 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 ordered the federal government to explain its actions by Friday.
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"This re-detention is unconstitutional, and they should be immediately released," attorney Brian Clark wrote in the emergency habeas petition, per the outlet.
The pair were arrested after a Jan. 14 altercation that began when ICE agents attempted a targeted traffic stop in north Minneapolis, DHS said at the time.
According to DHS, federal officers were attempting to arrest Sosa-Celis when he fled the scene in his vehicle, crashed into a parked car and ran on foot.
DHS said the pursuing officer caught up with Sosa-Celis and attempted to take him into custody, at which point Sosa-Celis allegedly began to resist and violently assault the officer.
As the two struggled on the ground, DHS said two individuals emerged from a nearby apartment and began striking the officer with a snow shovel and the handle of a broom. DHS said Sosa-Celis then broke free and allegedly struck the officer as well before the agent, fearing for his life, fired a defensive shot that struck Sosa-Celis in the leg.
Despite being wounded, DHS said Sosa-Celis and the other two men retreated into the apartment and barricaded themselves inside.
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ICE ultimately arrested all three suspects and took them into custody, DHS said. The officer and Sosa-Celis were both hospitalized following the confrontation.
The agency described the incident as an "attempted murder of federal law enforcement," saying an ICE officer was ambushed and struck with a snow shovel and the handle of a broom before firing a defensive shot that struck Sosa-Celis in the leg.
DHS 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 after the Jan. 14 incident.
The Tribune reported that the federal affidavit in the case makes no mention of Hernandez-Ledezma, and that he has not been charged with any federal crime. The newspaper said he is being held at a federal detention facility in Texas and that it could not independently verify his presence or involvement in the incident.
Defense attorneys told the court that photographic evidence and witness statements raise questions about the timing and circumstances of the shooting, including allegedly suggesting the shot may have been fired after the suspects had gone inside a residence, according to the Tribune.
Fox News' Greg Wehner contributed to this report.