Justice Department says ICE officer lied about Minnesota shooting

Key Points:

• ICE officer Christian Castro was released on a $75,000 unsecured bond with a GPS monitor after pleading not guilty to lying about the shooting of Venezuelan Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis during a Minnesota immigration crackdown.
• Castro is accused of falsely claiming he was attacked with a broom and shovel before firing, but the indictment states no one struck him as described; video evidence led to assault charges against Sosa-Celis and another man being dropped.
• This is the first Justice Department prosecution of a federal officer related to Operation Metro Surge, which involved thousands of agents in the Twin Cities and resulted in protests, arrests, and two fatal shootings by federal officers.
• The case has caused internal Justice Department conflict, with a prosecutor alleging higher-ups blocked more serious civil rights charges; that prosecutor has since been fired and is under investigation.
• Sosa-Celis’ lawyer and the ACLU of Minnesota are pushing for stronger charges and damages against Castro and the federal government, asserting Castro’s actions lacked self-defense justification.