An Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer who shot a Venezuelan immigrant in Minnesota was taken into federal custody late Thursday on charges of making false statements to investigators about the incident, according to a federal law enforcement source. A federal grand jury returned a six-count indictment on Wednesday against the ICE officer, Christian Castro, though the case has not yet been unsealed, multiple sources stated. The Associated Press first reported that Castro had been charged by federal prosecutors. He was taken into custody in Texas on Thursday and is scheduled to make an initial court appearance on Friday.
Federal Indictment Against ICE Officer Christian Castro
The federal indictment centers on the Jan. 14 shooting that left Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis with a gunshot wound in his leg during immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis. Castro was previously charged in May by local prosecutors in Minnesota with assault and false reporting of a crime related to the same shooting. However, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott refused to sign an extradition warrant to transfer him, prompting a legal battle, and Castro was released from a Texas jail last week.
Contradicted Accounts and Dropped Charges
Accounts of the interaction that led to the shooting shifted significantly in the immediate aftermath. The Department of Homeland Security initially claimed that Sosa-Celis fled a traffic stop, crashed a vehicle, and fled on foot, after which two men emerged from a nearby apartment and attacked an agent with a broom handle and snow shovel. DHS asserted that Sosa-Celis broke free and began striking the officer, prompting a defensive shot to defend his life.
However, an FBI affidavit and subsequent video evidence dismantled those initial claims. Federal prosecutors dropped charges that had been filed against Sosa-Celis and Alfredo Alejandro Aljorna in February, citing newly discovered evidence that was materially inconsistent with the allegations. The charges were dismissed with prejudice, meaning they could not be reintroduced. Todd Lyons, then the acting head of ICE, stated at the time that video evidence contradicted statements made under oath by Castro and a second officer, both of whom were placed on administrative leave.
Extradition Standoff and Prosecutor Dismissal
Following his release from custody in Brownsville, Texas, Andrew Mahaleris, a spokesperson for Gov. Greg Abbott, stated that state law enforcement stood ready to assist federal partners if needed, while noting that details of any federal indictment are best addressed by the U.S. Department of Justice. Meanwhile, a separate investigation into whether Castro should face a more serious civil rights charge remains ongoing according to sources.
As news of the indictment broke, a federal prosecutor working on the case was fired. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Evans had informed lawyers for Sosa-Celis that Department of Justice officials blocked efforts to bring a more severe civil rights charge against Castro, according to ProPublica. Evans wrote in an email to lawyers for Sosa-Celis that he objected in the strongest possible terms to pursuing only false statement charges. Evans did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and an attorney for Castro also did not immediately respond.
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