diff --git a/pyro/distributions/torch_patch.py b/pyro/distributions/torch_patch.py
index 55d98f6650..cad559b3cf 100644
--- a/pyro/distributions/torch_patch.py
+++ b/pyro/distributions/torch_patch.py
@@ -7,8 +7,6 @@
 
 import torch
 
-assert torch.__version__.startswith("1.")
-
 
 def patch_dependency(target, root_module=torch):
     parts = target.split(".")