A pair of Venezuelan nationals who were accused of assaulting a Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in the middle of a wild arrest in Minneapolis in January, were released by order of a federal judge this week. However, the two individuals ended up once again being arrested by ICE, according to court documents cited by local news outlet, The Minnesota Star Tribune.
Alfredo Alejandro Ajorna, 26, and Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, 24, were released by a judge’s order on February 3, 2026, after being found not to pose a heightened flight risk. The two men never made it out of the courthouse, as ICE agents took them back into custody following the hearing.
Attorneys for the two men say that there was no explanation given for the second arrest, which ultimately led to a habeas corpus petition filed late in the day on Tuesday. Minnesota Chief U.S. District Judge Patrick J. Schiltz banned ICE from taking the men from the state, ordering the federal government to provide an explanation for its actions no later than February 6.
“This re-detention is unconstitutional, and they should be immediately released,” attorney Brian Clark stated in the emergency habeas petition. The two Venezuelan nationals were first taken into custody on January 14 after an altercation with an ICE officer during an attempted traffic stop, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
A report from Fox News revealed that federal officials were trying to arrest Sosa-Celis when he decided to make a run for it in his vehicle. He then crashed into a parked vehicle and took off on foot. An officer pursued after Sosa-Celis, however, when he caught up to the suspect, he began to resist and assaulted the officer. The struggle went to the ground, where, DHS said, two individuals came out from a nearby apartment and started beating the officer with a snow shovel and the handle of a broom.
During the attack, Sosa-Celis got free and struck the officer, who then, fearing for his safety, fired a defensive shot that hit the suspect in the leg. While injured, Sosa-Celis, along with the other two men who assisted in helping him get free, ran into the apartment and barricaded themselves inside. Eventually, ICE was able to arrest all three men. Both Sosa-Celis and the officer were hospitalized after the confrontation ended.
The agency went on to describe the incident as an “attempted murder of federal law enforcement,” stating the ICE officer was ambushed and assaulted with a snow shovel and broom handle before firing the shot that hit Sosa-Celis. DHS then released the identities of the three men: Sosa-Celis, Ajorna, and Gabriel Alejandro Hernandez-Ledezma.
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Local media outlets reported that Hernandez-Ledezma was not mentioned in the federal affidavit in the case and noted he has not, as of now, been charged with a crime. He is, however, being held in a federal detention facility in Texas, though The Tribune noted it could not independently verify his presence or involvement in the incident.
The legal team representing the men gave a statement to Fox News where they expressed their disagreement with the government’s account of the events that transpired. “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 wrote. “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.”
Watch Tom Homan call out rogue leftists for putting ICE agents’ lives at risk here: