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jacob frey
'The Agents Were Lying': ICE Exposed Yet Again by Video of Minneapolis Shooting
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said "bare due diligence" would have exposed ICE officers' falsehoods.
Apr 06, 2026
Video footage obtained by The New York Times has exposed lies told by two federal immigration enforcement agents about the circumstances leading up to a non-fatal shooting in Minneapolis that occurred on January 14.
According to a Monday report from the Times, the video directly contradicts claims made by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials that they were attacked by assailants armed with a shovel and a broom for around three minutes before the agents opened fire and wounded one of the attackers.
"Instead, the confrontation depicted in the video lasts about 12 seconds and shows two men struggling with the agent," reported the Times. "It shows no sustained attack with a shovel."
Federal prosecutors had initially pursued assault charges against Venezuelan national Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, who was shot in the leg by the ICE officers during the January confrontation, and fellow Venezuelan national Alfredo Aljorna.
However, the government abruptly dropped charges against the two men in February, and ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons acknowledged that two federal officers appear “to have made untruthful statements” about the incident.
The Times noted that the government had access to the video of the shooting hours after it took place.
However, one source told the paper that prosecutors didn't watch the video until three weeks after they filed charges against Sosa-Celis and Aljorna, and instead relied on "the ICE agent’s statement and an FBI agent’s affidavit describing the footage."
This revelation prompted a rebuke from Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, who told the Times that "bare due diligence would have shown that the agents were lying."
Trump administration officials have come under fire in recent weeks for lying about shootings involving federal immigration officials, such as when former US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem falsely claimed that slain Minneapolis intensive care nurse Alex Pretti was aiming “to inflict maximum damage on individuals and to kill law enforcement."
In reality, video footage showed Pretti never drew his handgun during his confrontation with federal immigration officers, while also clearly showing that officers disarmed him before they opened fire.
Noem also falsely claimed that slain ICE observer Renee Good had attempted "an act of domestic terrorism" by trying to run over a federal immigration officer with her car, even though footage clearly showed Good turning her vehicle away from the officer in an attempt to get away from the scene.
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A 'Terrifying Line Is Being Crossed,' Warns Minneapolis Mayor as More ICE Horror Stories Emerge
In an interview with the New York Times, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey described "marauding gangs of guys just walking down the street indiscriminately picking people up."
Jan 31, 2026
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey is warning that the Trump administration has crossed a "terrifying line" with its use of federal immigration enforcement agents to brutalize and abduct people in his city.
In an interview with the New York Times published Saturday, Frey described operations that have taken place in his city as "marauding gangs of guys just walking down the street indiscriminately picking people up," likening it to a military "invasion."
During the interview, Frey was asked what he made of Attorney General Pam Bondi's recent offer to withdraw immigration enforcement forces from his city if Minnesota handed over its voter registration records to the federal government.
"That is wildly unconstitutional," Frey replied. "We should all be standing up and saying that’s not OK. Literally, listen to what they’re saying. Active threats like, Turn over the voter rolls or else, or we will continue to do what we’re doing. That’s something you can do in America now."
Frey was also asked about Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz's comments from earlier in the week where he likened the administration's invasion of Minneapolis to the first battle that took place during the US Civil War in Fort Sumter.
"I don’t think he’s saying that the Civil War is going to happen," said Frey. "I think what he’s saying is that a significant and terrifying line is being crossed. And I would agree with that."
As Frey issued warnings about the federal government's actions in Minneapolis, more horror stories have emerged involving US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Minnesota.
The Associated Press reported on Saturday that staff at the Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis have been raising red flags over ICE agents' claims about Alberto Castañeda Mondragón, a Mexican immigrant whom they treated after he suffered a shattered skull earlier this month.
ICE agents who brought Castañeda Mondragón to the hospital told staffers that he had injured himself after he "purposefully ran headfirst into a brick wall" while trying to escape their custody.
Nurses who treated Castañeda Mondragón, however, said that there is no way that running headfirst into a wall could produce the sheer number of skull fractures he suffered, let alone the internal bleeding found throughout his brain.
“It was laughable, if there was something to laugh about," one nurse at the hospital told the Associated Press. “There was no way this person ran headfirst into a wall."
According to a Saturday report in the New York Times, concern over ICE's brutality has grown to such an extent that many Minnesota residents, including both documented immigrants and US citizens, have started wearing passports around their necks to avoid being potentially targeted.
Joua Tsu Thao, a 75-year-old US citizen who came to the country after aiding the American military during the Vietnam War, said the aggressive actions of immigration officers have left him with little choice but to display his passport whenever he walks outside his house.
"We need to be ready before they point a gun to us," Thao explained to the Times.
CNN on Friday reported that ICE has been rounding up refugees living in Minnesota who were allowed to enter the US after undergoing "a rigorous, years-long vetting process," and sending them to a facility in Texas where they are being prepared for deportation.
Lawyers representing the abducted refugees told CNN that their clients have been "forced to recount painful asylum claims with limited or no contact with family members or attorneys."
Some of the refugees taken to Texas have been released from custody. But instead of being flown back home, they were released in Texas "without money, identification, or phones," CNN reported.
Laurie Ball Cooper, vice president for US legal programs at the International Refugee Assistance Project, told CNN that government agents abducting refugees who had previously been allowed into the US is part of "a campaign of terror" that "is designed to scare people."
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Minnesota Officials Say They 'Will Not Be Intimidated' by Trump DOJ Subpoenas
"This Department of Justice investigation, sparked by calls for accountability in the face of violence, chaos, and the killing of Renee Good, does not seek justice," said Gov. Tim Walz.
Jan 20, 2026
The US Department of Justice on Tuesday subpoenaed top Minnesota officials, including Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, as part of the DOJ's investigation into alleged conspiracy to impede the thousands of federal immigration agents sent to the Twin Cities by President Donald Trump—a probe Walz has condemned as part of a broader trend of the administration "weaponizing the justice system."
Walz—who ran for vice president in 2024—was similarly critical of the grand jury subpoenas, which were also served to state Attorney General Keith Ellison, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, Saint Paul Mayor Kaohly Her, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty, and Ramsey County Attorney John Choi.
"Mr. President, Minnesota invites you to see our values in action," Walz began a lengthy statement shared on social media. "But let me be absolutely clear: The state of Minnesota will not be drawn into political theater. This Department of Justice investigation, sparked by calls for accountability in the face of violence, chaos, and the killing of Renee Good, does not seek justice."
"It is a partisan distraction," Walz declared, detailing how the flood of immigration agents is negatively impacting communities and arguing that the Trump administration should focus on "restoring trust, accountability, and real law and order, not political retaliation."
After US Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Jonathan Ross fatally shot Good earlier this month, Trump and others in his administration called the deceased 37-year-old mother of three a "domestic terrorist" and claimed the ICE officer was acting in self-defense, a narrative betrayed by numerous videos, eyewitness accounts, and detailed analyses of the shooting.
As protesters continued to fill Minnesota's streets, Ellison and the Twin Cities sued the US Department of Homeland Security—which includes Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and ICE—in hopes of ending what the attorney general called a "federal invasion." The ACLU quickly followed with a class action lawsuit aimed at ending DHS agents' unlawful stops and arrests.
In a Tuesday statement about the subpoena, Ellison noted the suit he recently filed on behalf of the state:
Less than two weeks ago, federal agents shot and killed a Minnesotan in broad daylight. Now, instead of seriously investigating the killing of Renee Good, Trump is weaponizing the justice system against any leader who dares stand up to him.
Today, my office has received a criminal grand jury subpoena from the Department of Justice. It is a subpoena for records and documents related to my office's work with respect to federal immigration enforcement, not for me personally. Everything about this is highly irregular, especially the fact that this comes shortly after my office sued the Trump administration to challenge their illegal actions within Minnesota.
Let's be clear about why this is happening: Donald Trump is coming after the people of Minnesota, and I'm standing in his way. I will not be intimidated, and I will not stop working to protect Minnesotans from Trump's campaign of retaliation and revenge."
Frey—who told ICE to "get the fuck out of Minneapolis" after Ross killed Good—said Tuesday that "when the federal government weaponizes its power to try to intimidate local leaders for doing their jobs, every American should be concerned."
"We shouldn't have to live in a country where people fear that federal law enforcement will be used to play politics or crack down on local voices they disagree with," he continued. "In Minneapolis, we won't be afraid. We know the difference between right and wrong, and, as mayor, I'll continue doing the job I was elected to do: keeping our community safe and standing up for our values."
Christina Harvey, executive director of the progressive advocacy group Stand Up America, also asserted that the DOJ's probe "isn't a legitimate search for wrongdoing. It's an attempt to intimidate elected officials who are demanding justice for the killing of Renee Good and trying to protect their communities from Trump's chaotic immigration crackdown."
"Trump is once again weaponizing the DOJ against his political opponents while shielding his own DHS secretary and ICE agents from accountability as they violate due process, use lethal violence against American citizens, and show a clear disregard for human life," she continued. "This administration mistakes bullying for strength and believes it is above the law."
If US Attorney General Pam Bondi "really cared about justice, she'd be investigating the killing of Renee Good," Harvey added, "not harassing public servants for doing their jobs."
News of the subpoenas came as Greg Bovino, commander at large for CBP, and Marcos Charles, executive associate director of ICE, defended federal agents' operations during a Tuesday afternoon press conference, with the former claiming that "what we do is legal, ethical, and moral."
Sharing a video of Bovino's remarks on social media, journalist Aaron Rupar simply said, "Bovino lies shamelessly."
This article has been updated with comment from Stand Up America.
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