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In Minnesota, two ICE agents have been suspended and face criminal investigation into whether they lied to a jury about the shooting of a Venezuelan immigrant last month. The officers claimed Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis and his cousin Alfredo Alejandro Aljorna attacked them with a snow shovel and a broom after a traffic stop on January 14th, and said one of the officers fired in self-defense. Shortly after the shooting, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem described it as an “attempted murder” of federal law enforcement.

But video evidence directly contradicts claims the men attacked federal agents. Sosa-Celis said he had retreated into his home and was shot in the leg while in the process of closing and locking his door. On Thursday, a federal judge dismissed felony assault charges against the cousins after the U.S. attorney in Minneapolis said newly discovered evidence had contradicted the officers’ testimony, and after ICE admitted the federal agents lied under oath.

For more, we’re joined in Minneapolis by Frederick Goetz, criminal defense attorney who represents Alfredo Alejandro Aljorna.

Thanks so much for being with us. Can you explain exactly what happened? How rare for the Department of Justice to admit that their agents lied?

FREDERICK GOETZ: Well, that is unusual, as is the result in this case, which is not only a dismissal, but a dismissal with prejudice, meaning that my client can never be charged again for anything to do with this incident.

AMY GOODMAN: Explain what took place, as you understand it, Fred Goetz.

FREDERICK GOETZ: What happened, from my client’s perspective, which I think is actually the truthful version, is that he was on his way home — he’s a DoorDash delivery person — and he was followed by ICE agents. This followed the shooting of Renee Good by about a week, so he was filled with fear. He just wanted to get home. He gets out of his car, and he’s running in his home, when he’s tackled by the ICE agent.

At that point, there is a struggle. There’s no dispute about that. My client slipped out of his sweater and then was in the process of running into his home. His cousin comes out, Juan Sosa-Celis — or, Julio Sosa-Celis. They do not strike the agent. There’s no attack with a broom. There’s no attack with a shovel. They run and retreat inside the house, behind a closed door, and that’s when they’re shot at by the agent.

AMY GOODMAN: If you can explain what they were originally charged with?

FREDERICK GOETZ: They were charged with assaulting a federal officer, which is a very serious offense. As a result of this, Mr. Aljorna, I mean, he’s been branded a criminal, not only here, but, you know, through the internet, in his home of Venezuela. And so, this person who had been living a law-abiding life up to this point is all of a sudden deemed a criminal. So it’s had serious repercussions for this man and his reputation.

AMY GOODMAN: Can you talk about the significance of the judge dismissing the case with prejudice? What does “with prejudice” mean?

FREDERICK GOETZ: It means he can never be charged again for anything to do related with this. And I should point out that the judge granted the government’s motion. So it was the government’s moving to dismiss the case with prejudice that then gave the judge the opportunity to grant that relief. And the government should be commended for taking that, that bold and affirmative step in recognizing the wrong and making concrete efforts to correct it.

AMY GOODMAN: Can you explain where your client, Alfredo Alejandro Aljorna, one of the two Venezuelan men, and Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis are right now?

FREDERICK GOETZ: They’ve returned to their families in Minnesota.

AMY GOODMAN: And to have ICE issuing a statement, admitting its federal agents made false statements under oath, admitting that their agents lied, explain what’s now happened to them.

FREDERICK GOETZ: There’s ongoing investigations on both the state and the federal level. But I think it shows the importance of following the facts rather than following the story. The story came out early on. The story was wrong. And it’s heartening to see that the facts prevail. This is one case, and I don’t know if it’s a message of things to come. We hope so. But in this one case, I’m confident justice has been served so far.

AMY GOODMAN: Why haven’t the agents been publicly identified?

FREDERICK GOETZ: That’s a question you’ll have to ask ICE officials.

AMY GOODMAN: So, they’re on administrative leave. Explain what you expect to happen now with this investigation.

FREDERICK GOETZ: Well, there’s two parallel investigations. There’s an investigation by local authorities, state and local authorities, and there’s an investigation by federal authorities. Those will both proceed at pace. I don’t know, and you alluded to it in different contexts, the extent of coordination, if any, between those investigations. Before Operation Metro Surge, there was typically coordination between state and federal authorities in these type of cases. Not this case.

AMY GOODMAN: Can you talk about the trauma of your client and his cousin?

FREDERICK GOETZ: They had different traumas, of course. Mr. Sosa-Celis was shot physically, so that’s an extra dimension to it. With my client, it’s the trauma of being branded, and internationally, a criminal. This is somebody — and somebody who violently attacked a federal officer. That never happened. And my client is doing the best he can to show that he’s just the law-abiding person he’s always been.

AMY GOODMAN: What connection do you see between their case and what Trump officials said about Renee Good and Alex Pretti?

FREDERICK GOETZ: The connection is this, as I said before. You follow the facts, not the story. And in this case, ultimately, the facts prevailed over the story. The story was what was perpetrated the first few days or promulgated the first few days. But I think the danger is getting the story ahead of the facts, because here the story was shown to be false.

AMY GOODMAN: And so, how is Mr. [Sosa-Celis], since he’s been shot by ICE agents?

FREDERICK GOETZ: Well, he’s not my client. I represent Mr. Aljorna. But I understand all of the — in this case, Mr. Aljorna, Mr. Sosa-Celis, they’re all back home with their families.

AMY GOODMAN: That’s Mr. Sosa-Celis. Thanks so much for being with us, Frederick Goetz, criminal defense attorney who represents Alfredo Alejandro Aljorna, one of the two Venezuelan men who were falsely accused of assaulting a federal immigration agent in Minneapolis in January.

That does it for our show. A very happy birthday to Neil Shibata!

On Monday, February 23rd, Democracy Now! will be celebrating our 30th anniversary at the historic Riverside Church in New York. Guests will include Angela Davis, Naomi Klein, the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Mosab Abu Toha, the Nobel Prize-winning journalist Maria Ressa, the singer and songwriter Michael Stipe, the jazz legend Wynton Marsalis, V., formerly known as Eve Ensler, Hurray for the Riff Raff and so many more. Juan González will be flying in from Chicago, joining me and Nermeen Shaikh and our whole Democracy Now! family for the celebration. Check out democracynow.org for information and tickets. I’m Amy Goodman.