The Justice Department has charged a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer with allegedly lying to investigators about the circumstances of his shooting of a Venezuelan man in an enforcement operation in Minneapolis, according to reports Thursday.
The officer, Christian Castro, is charged with making false statements to federal investigators, The Associated Press and The New York Times reported, each citing a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly.
Castro is accused of shooting Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, 24, through the door of his home on Jan. 14, amid the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in Minneapolis.
The Department of Homeland Security initially described the shooting as an act of self-defense. Then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem called it an “attempted murder of federal law enforcement.” According to DHS, Castro was “ambushed” by Sosa-Celis and another man, and Sosa-Celis struck him with a shovel or a broomstick.
Sosa-Celis and the other man were each charged with forcibly assaulting an ICE officer, but the charges were dropped after acting ICE Director Todd Lyons said Castro and another officer appeared to have lied under oath about the incident. Video of the shooting later obtained by The New York Times also contradicted key elements of Castro’s version of events.
Minnesota authorities subsequently charged Castro with assault and falsely reporting a crime. He was arrested by federal officers in Texas in May after a Minnesota judge issued a nationwide warrant for his arrest, sparking an extradition battle between the two states.
Castro was released from a Texas jail last week after a judge declined to order his return to Minnesota.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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