Yesterday, we published a Deeper Look analysis of a largely forgotten case — the January 14 Minneapolis shooting of Venezuelan immigrant Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis. A familiar pattern was evident: the shooting was followed by a forceful DHS narrative that framed the agent as the victim of a violent attack by Sosa-Celis, only for the account to fall apart under scrutiny, with charges dropped yesterday by the Minnesota US Attorney’s office.
Today, in that same case, Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons issued a statement saying that a joint ICE/DOJ review of video evidence indicates that two officers’ sworn testimony “appears” to have been untruthful—and that the U.S. Attorney’s Office is investigating those statements as potential federal crimes.
This is no longer a dispute between DHS talking points and defense counsel. It is ICE leadership publicly acknowledging for the first time the possibility of perjury (and potentially other predicate crimes) in a case that DHS originally portrayed as a violent “ambush” that forced an officer to shoot in self-defense.
What Lyons said
Lyons’ statement is unusually direct:
“Today, a joint review by ICE and the Department of Justice (DOJ) of video evidence has revealed that sworn testimony provided by two separate officers appears to have made untruthful statements.”
“Both officers have been immediately placed on administrative leave pending the completion of a thorough internal investigation. Lying under oath is a serious federal offense. The U.S. Attorney’s Office is actively investigating these false statements.”
Lyons added that ICE personnel are held to the “highest standards” and that violations “will not be tolerated,” while stressing “transparency” and “accountability.”
The whiplash: what the public was told in January
DHS’s initial public account was sweeping and specific: a “targeted traffic stop,” a driver who fled and crashed, a violent assault on an officer, and two additional individuals joining the attack “with a snow shovel and broom handle”—prompting what DHS described as a “defensive shot” to “defend his life,” striking Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis in the leg.
That narrative was not offered tentatively. It was presented as the authoritative version of events.
What changed in court
Yesterday federal prosecutor in Minnesota moved to dismiss charges after “newly discovered evidence” emerged that was “materially inconsistent” with the complaint affidavit and “the preliminary-hearing testimony”—and notes it remains unclear what specific new evidence was referenced in that filing.
There are key discrepancies between the early DHS story and details in court records, including an FBI affidavit describing agents attempting to stop a different person, later identifying Aljorna as the driver, and describing the confrontation in a way that sharply diverged from the initial DHS storyline.
Most importantly for today’s development: Lyons says ICE and DOJ reviewed video evidence and concluded that two officers’ sworn testimony appears to have been untruthful.
The AP adds a crucial new detail: a criminal probe, and the consequences
Federal authorities have opened a criminal investigation into whether the two immigration officers lied under oath, and the officers (not named) have been placed on administrative leave, and that Lyons said they could face termination and potential criminal prosecution.
Defense counsel is now saying bluntly—that the charges were “based on lies,” and quotes attorney Brian D. Clark accusing an ICE agent of “recklessly” shooting into their home.
The part that should not get lost: “flooding the zone” worked—until it didn’t
In January, DHS’s version traveled fast and loud. The judicial correction arrived later, in the dry language of motions and hearings, and was easy to miss.
Lyons’ statement changes that.
When the head of ICE publicly says sworn testimony “appears” untruthful—and invokes perjury and an active U.S. Attorney investigation—that is the institutional equivalent of pulling the emergency brake.
It also raises the question that matters beyond this single case: how many dramatic DHS statements—issued at the moment of maximum public attention—are being written in a way that assumes the evidence will never fully surface?
Today, the evidence surfaced anyway.
And now DHS’s story isn’t merely “contested.” ICE’s own leadership is saying it may have been sworn to under oath—untruthfully.
One small step in the right direction.
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SOURCES
https://abcnews.go.com/US/prosecutor-moves-dismiss-charges-migrant-shot-minneapolis-citing/story?id=130131578
https://www.fox8live.com/2026/02/13/feds-investigating-whether-2-ice-officers-lied-about-shooting-venezuelan-man-minneapolis/
Your Substack is OUTSTANDING!
I will believe in an ICE culture of accountability when they stop breaking the law without it taking witnesses with cameras to stop them.