ICE Officer Faces Federal Court Over Alleged False Statement in Minneapolis Shooting
ICE officer Christian Castro is set to appear in federal court in St. Paul on a charge of making false statements about a January shooting in Minneapolis.
An Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer accused of shooting a Venezuelan man during this year's immigration crackdown in Minneapolis and then lying to investigators is scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in St. Paul on Friday.
Christian Castro faces a federal charge of making false statements about the January shooting of Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis. His federal hearing follows a state court appearance on Thursday on assault charges, after which he was released from custody.
Prosecutors in both cases allege that Castro, 52, fired through the front door of a Minneapolis home and struck the 24-year-old Sosa-Celis in the leg. They say he later falsely reported that he had been attacked with a broom handle and a snow shovel before firing his gun.
Minnesota prosecutors charged Castro in May, but efforts to bring him from Texas, where he had been arrested, became entangled in a legal and political dispute. Authorities, including Minnesota's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, arrested him in Cameron County, Texas, on May 29 after a Minnesota judge issued a nationwide warrant. Under Texas law he could be held for 90 days while Minnesota sought his extradition, but Texas Governor Greg Abbott declined last month to sign an extradition warrant.
Castro was subsequently released in Texas and soon after was indicted on federal charges announced earlier this month. He turned himself in to federal authorities and traveled to Minnesota on his own. His attorney, Daniel Gerdts, declined to comment after Thursday's hearing. Defense lawyers in the federal case have said he plans to plead not guilty.
The case marks the first Justice Department prosecution of a federal officer for actions taken during Operation Metro Surge, which brought thousands of agents to the Twin Cities and led to sweeping protests, arrests and the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens by federal officers.
Minnesota authorities have clashed with the Trump administration over which jurisdiction should handle charges against Castro. The Department of Homeland Security has called the state prosecution "unlawful and nothing more than a political stunt," arguing that only federal authorities have jurisdiction.