United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials re‑arrested two Venezuelan nationals on Tuesday who are accused of assaulting an ICE agent in Minneapolis last month.
The re-arrest comes after a Minnesota judge ordered the release of Alfredo Alejandro Aljorna, 26, and Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, 24, on Tuesday. Sosa-Celis allegedly resisted arrest on Jan. 14, and DHS claims that he began striking an officer with a shovel or broom handle. The officer then shot Sosa-Celis in the thigh.
Police also apprehended Aljorna and Gabriel Alejandro Hernandez-Ledezma during that incident, both of whom allegedly assaulted the officer with a snow shovel and broom handle. Sosa-Celis and Aljorna both deny attacking the officer. Aljorna is also accused of fleeing an ICE agent at high speeds.
Released by MN authorities before ICE could even lodge a detainer, Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, a criminal illegal alien from Venezuela, was the subject of a targeted enforcement operation after his conviction for driving without a license and arrests for two counts of giving a false… pic.twitter.com/aKdTwmeWXy
— U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (@ICEgov) January 15, 2026
Shortly after U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson ruled that Aljorna and Sosa-Celis could go free, the two were arrested a second time. Each man’s attorney said they were unsure why their clients had been arrested again.
According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Hernandez-Ledezma is currently being held at a federal detention facility. Hernandez-Ledezma has not been charged with a federal crime.
Minnesota’s Chief U.S. District Judge Patrick J. Schiltz ruled that Sosa-Celis and Aljorna must stay in the state. He also ordered the government to provide an explanation for the men’s second arrest by Friday.
The incident allegedly involving Sosa-Celis and Aljorna took place seven days after the ICE-involved shooting of Renee Nicole Good. An ICE agent shot Good in her car on Jan. 7 when she moved her vehicle into drive; one agent was directly in front of the car, and another had his arm through the driver’s side window. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has argued that the agent acted in self-defense and that Good intended to use her car in an act of domestic terrorism.
🚨#BREAKING: Watch as Aerial shot shows larger crowds of protesters and other activists gathering at site where 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good was taken down in ICE-involved incident causing major outrage throughout the city and the United States pic.twitter.com/HZ6wI1W52k
— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) January 7, 2026
Another Minneapolis resident, Alex Pretti, was fatally shot during a struggle with United States Customs and Border Protection agents on Jan. 24. Federal officials recovered a gun from Pretti moments before the shooting. The Hennepin County medical examiner has since ruled his death a homicide, and the Justice Department said last week that its Civil Rights Division is investigating the case.
The two federal officers who shot Pretti have since been placed on leave. Although media outlets have named the officers, this outlet is withholding their identities for privacy reasons. Neither DHS nor Customs and Border Protection had confirmed the officers’ identities as of Wednesday afternoon.
Border czar Tom Homan announced on Wednesday that federal authorities will immediately withdraw 700 law enforcement personnel from Minnesota. That news comes two days after Noem confirmed that DHS agents, including those in Minneapolis, will begin wearing body cameras.
