Two federal agents have been put on leave and are under investigation for allegedly lying about a shooting in Minneapolis last month that left a Venezuelan illegal alien wounded, a top Trump administration official said Friday.
"Video evidence has revealed that sworn testimony provided by two separate officers appears to have made untruthful statements," Todd Lyons, the acting head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said in a statement.
"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 announcement came a day after federal prosecutors dropped assault charges against Alfredo Alejandro Aljorna and Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, who was shot in the leg by an ICE officer in Minneapolis on Jan. 14.
U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen, in a court filing, said the charges were being dismissed because "newly discovered evidence in this matter is materially inconsistent with the allegations in the complaint" made against the men.
In its initial statement about the shooting, the Department of Homeland Security said "an illegal alien from Venezuela" was targeted for a traffic stop and resisted arrest.
"While the subject and law enforcement were in a struggle on the ground, two subjects came out of a nearby apartment and also attacked the law enforcement officer with a snow shovel and broom handle," DHS said.
The officer then "fired a defensive shot to defend his life," hitting the initial subject in the leg.
The shooting of Sosa-Celis came a week after a federal law enforcement in Minneapolis shot and killed Renee Good, 37, an anti-ICE protester who authorities said struck and ICE officer with the car she was driving.
Another protester, Alex Pretty, 37, was shot and killed Jan. 24 after an encounter with federal law enforcement.
Tom Homan, President Donald Trump's point man on deportations and border security, announced Thursday that the administration was winding down its immigration operation in Minnesota.