Court Dismisses Charges Against Sosa-Celis and Aljorna With Prejudice; DHS Says Two Officers' Sworn Testimony Appears Untruthful

A federal judge in Saint Paul dismissed the assault complaint against Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis and Alfredo Aljorna with prejudice on its own motion. The motion gave a one-line reason. The same day, DHS said two officers’ sworn testimony “appears to have made untruthful statements.”

The court record. The government’s motion to dismiss, dated February 11, says “Newly discovered evidence in this matter is materially inconsistent with the allegations in the Complaint Affidavit,” and with the preliminary-hearing testimony based on information given to the affiant. It does not say what the evidence was. Judge Paul Magnuson’s order, dated February 13, grants the motion and dismisses the complaint with prejudice, with no written reasoning.

The agency statement. On Friday, February 13, DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said “a joint review by ICE and the Department of Justice of video evidence has revealed that sworn testimony provided by two separate officers appears to have made untruthful statements.” She added, “Lying under oath is a serious federal offense. The U.S. Attorney’s Office is actively investigating these false statements.” Fox News, citing the Associated Press, attributes the same finding to Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons. NPR reports McLaughlin did not answer whether DHS stands by its January self-defense account.

Wording matters. DHS’s language is “appears to have made untruthful statements,” and it speaks of sworn testimony, not of DHS’s earlier press release. The statement does not name the officers, the statements or the video. Later charging documents, not this statement, are what identify the officer and the false accounts (2026-09-04–ice-officer-castro-pleads-not-guilty-six-false-statement-counts-minneapolis-shooting).

The shooting itself is at 2026-01-14–ice-agent-shoots-julio-sosa-celis-north-minneapolis-dhs-says-three-attackers-partner-says-nothing-grabbed.

Sourcing note. The motion and order were read in full from RECAP’s copies. The DHS statement is quoted as NPR and Fox News report it; the quoted words are McLaughlin’s, and Fox, citing the Associated Press, attributes the finding to Lyons.