ICE Officer Charged With Assault, Lying About Shooting Arrested In Minnesota

ICE agent Christian Castro turned himself in to Minnesota authorities eight months after shooting and wounding Venezuelan national Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis through an apartment door during Operation Metro Surge, a Minneapolis immigration deployment that drew weeks of protest and two fatal shootings of U.S. citizens by federal agents. Castro faces federal charges for lying to investigators and state charges for assault and false reporting, after allegedly claiming he was attacked with a snow shovel and broom, a claim video evidence disproved.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, initially refused to sign extradition papers sent by Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, a Democrat, questioning whether Castro qualified as a fugitive since DHS had reassigned him home to Texas after the shooting. Castro spent 90 days in a Texas county jail before a federal judge denied Minnesota's extradition request, and he was only re-arrested after a federal grand jury indictment in early September.

DHS has suspended Castro, and a civil rights investigation into the shooting has reportedly been opened. His lawyer says Castro always intended to answer the Minneapolis charges and disputes prosecutors' concerns he might flee to Mexico.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.