Minneapolis Judge Orders Release of Accused ICE Officer Attackers, ICE Agents Intervene [WATCH]

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has re-arrested two Venezuelan nationals accused of assaulting a federal officer during a violent encounter in Minneapolis last month, just hours after a federal judge ordered their release, 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 determined they did not present a heightened flight risk.

However, ICE agents re-detained both men almost immediately following the hearing. Court records show the men never left the courthouse before being taken back into custody, as reported by Fox News.

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Attorneys representing the two defendants told the court that ICE detained them “without explanation” shortly after the release order.

That action prompted an emergency habeas corpus petition filed late Tuesday. Minnesota Chief U.S. District Judge Patrick J. Schiltz subsequently barred ICE from removing the men from the state and ordered the federal government to explain its actions by Friday.

“This re-detention is unconstitutional, and they should be immediately released,” attorney Brian Clark wrote in the emergency habeas petition, according to the Tribune.

The charges stem from a Jan. 14 incident in north Minneapolis that began when ICE agents attempted a targeted traffic stop, the Department of Homeland Security said at the time.

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According to DHS, federal officers were attempting to arrest Sosa-Celis when he fled the scene in a vehicle, crashed into a parked car, and then ran on foot.

DHS said an ICE officer pursued Sosa-Celis and attempted to take him into custody, at which point Sosa-Celis allegedly resisted and violently assaulted the officer.

As the struggle continued on the ground, DHS said two individuals exited a nearby apartment and began striking the officer with a snow shovel and the handle of a broom.

DHS stated that Sosa-Celis then broke free and allegedly struck the officer again.

The officer, 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.

ICE later arrested all three suspects and took them into custody. Both the officer and Sosa-Celis were hospitalized following the confrontation.

THESE are the illegal aliens animals who ambushed an ICE agent in Minneapolis in a 3-on-1, brutally assaulting him with a shovel, leading to self defense shots fired

ALL from Venezuela: Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, Alfredo Alejandro Ajorna, and Gabriel Alejandro Hernandez-Ledezma,… pic.twitter.com/miyf5nhjED

— Trumpusa1 (@Trumpusa1A1) January 17, 2026

DHS described the incident as an “attempted murder of federal law enforcement,” stating that an ICE officer was ambushed and struck with a snow shovel and broom handle before firing a defensive shot.

DHS publicly identified three Venezuelan nationals in connection with the incident: Sosa-Celis, Ajorna, and Gabriel Alejandro Hernandez-Ledezma.

However, the Tribune reported that the federal affidavit does not mention Hernandez-Ledezma and that he has not been charged with any federal crime.

The newspaper said Hernandez-Ledezma is being held at a federal detention facility in Texas, though it could not independently verify his role in the incident.

Defense attorneys for Ajorna and Sosa-Celis argued in court that photographic evidence and witness statements raise questions about the timing and circumstances of the shooting.

According to the Tribune, the defense has suggested the shot may have been fired after the suspects had already gone inside a residence.

In a joint statement to Fox News Digital, defense attorneys Frederick J. Goetz and Robin Wolpert disputed the government’s account of the encounter.

“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,” the attorneys 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.”

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