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ICE agent federally charged with lying over shooting of a Venezuelan immigrant
CNN • • nation
Key Points:
- ICE agent Christian Castro has been federally charged with making false statements regarding the shooting of Venezuelan immigrant Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis earlier this year, marking the first federal charge against an officer for on-duty conduct during immigration operations.
- Local Minnesota prosecutors had already charged Castro with second-degree assault and making a false report; he was released from a Texas jail after the governor declined to approve his extradition to Minnesota.
- Initial charges against Sosa-Celis and another man for attacking ICE officers were dropped after evidence contradicted Castro’s account, leading to investigations into false statements made by the agents involved.
- The shooting occurred after ICE officers attempted to stop a truck driven by an undocumented immigrant, and Sosa-Celis was shot in the leg through his apartment door as he and his cousin sought shelter inside.
- The Justice Department is considering civil rights charges against Castro, who, along with another agent, was placed on administrative leave following the incident.
