ICE Officer Charged With Lying About Minneapolis Shooting After Video Contradicts Federal Account

Federal prosecutors have charged a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer with lying to investigators about the January shooting of a Venezuelan man in Minneapolis, months after video evidence undermined the government’s original account of the confrontation.

Christian Castro, the ICE officer who authorities say shot Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis in the leg on January 14, has been charged with making false statements to federal investigators, according to the Associated Press, citing a person familiar with the investigation. Castro already faces separate Minnesota charges of assault and falsely reporting a crime stemming from the same encounter.

The federal charge represents a sharp reversal from the government’s initial portrayal of the incident. Federal authorities originally accused Sosa-Celis and another man of attacking immigration officers with a broom handle and snow shovel during an enforcement operation.

Prosecutors later dropped the charges against the two men after video evidence contradicted key parts of the officers’ account and raised questions about whether federal agents had provided false information about what occurred.

The confrontation took place during the Trump administration’s large-scale immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota.

According to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office, Castro fired his weapon through the front door of a Minneapolis home after people involved in the encounter had gone inside. The bullet struck Sosa-Celis in the leg before hitting a wall in a child’s room. Minnesota prosecutors allege Castro later falsely reported that officers had been attacked with objects including shovels and brooms.

The Department of Homeland Security issued a statement after the shooting that similarly described officers as having been attacked.

Hennepin County prosecutors said evidence gathered during their investigation did not support that account. Castro was charged in May with four counts of second-degree assault and one count of falsely reporting a crime. The charges remain allegations and have not resulted in a conviction.

The state prosecution soon developed into a separate legal dispute between Minnesota and Texas.

Castro was arrested in Brownsville, Texas, on May 29 under the Minnesota warrant. Minnesota officials sought his extradition, but Texas Gov. Greg Abbott did not sign the warrant needed to return Castro to Minnesota.

Minnesota later sued Abbott in federal court, arguing that the Constitution and federal law required Texas to honor the extradition request. A federal judge declined last week to compel Abbott to act, and Castro was released from a Texas jail on August 27 after approximately 90 days in custody.

Texas officials had questioned whether Castro qualified as a fugitive because he did not independently flee Minnesota after the shooting. Immigration authorities instead returned him to his home base in Texas.

Minnesota officials argued that distinction did not eliminate Texas’ obligation to extradite a person formally charged with crimes committed in another state.

The newly reported federal case creates a separate avenue for prosecuting Castro even as the state extradition dispute remains unresolved.

It also comes amid reports of disagreement inside the Justice Department over how seriously Castro should be charged.

ProPublica reported Wednesday that a federal prosecutor working on the investigation had pushed to bring a civil-rights charge against Castro over the shooting but said Justice Department officials in Washington blocked that effort over his objections.

The Associated Press subsequently reported that a person familiar with the investigation disputed the prosecutor’s characterization. According to that source, the investigation remains open and no final decision has been made about possible additional charges. The prosecutor who raised the concerns was fired Thursday and is now under investigation for alleged obstruction of a grand jury investigation, AP reported.

The competing accounts leave open the possibility that Castro could face additional federal charges.

Civil-rights prosecutions involving law enforcement officers generally require prosecutors to prove more than poor judgment or excessive force. Federal law can impose criminal liability when an officer willfully deprives someone of constitutional rights while acting under color of law, making the officer’s intent an important part of the government’s case.

The false-statement charge reported Thursday presents a different question. It centers on what Castro allegedly told federal investigators after the shooting and whether those statements were knowingly false.

The case also illustrates how video evidence can fundamentally alter a law-enforcement investigation.

Federal prosecutors initially brought criminal charges against Sosa-Celis and the other man based in part on the description of the confrontation provided by officers. Once video emerged that conflicted with that description, prosecutors dismissed the cases against them and investigators began examining the conduct of the federal agents themselves.

Minnesota prosecutors have said ICE leadership later acknowledged that two agents provided false information about the shooting.

Castro’s prosecution now involves three distinct legal tracks: the newly reported federal false-statement charge, Minnesota’s assault and false-reporting case, and the continuing dispute over whether Texas must extradite him to face the state charges.

The federal proceeding could move independently of the Minnesota case. An officer may face federal liability for allegedly lying to federal investigators while also facing state prosecution over the underlying use of force.

The case is also likely to draw continued scrutiny because the shooting occurred during a major federal immigration enforcement campaign and because the government’s original public account placed responsibility on the people targeted in the operation.

Video evidence later changed that picture.

Federal prosecutors are now accusing one of the ICE officers involved of lying about what happened, while Minnesota prosecutors are pursuing allegations that his conduct during the encounter itself constituted criminal assault.

Castro is presumed innocent unless proven guilty. The federal investigation remains ongoing, and authorities have not ruled out additional charges.