ICE Agent Charged With Lying After Minneapolis Shooting
ICE Agent Charged With Lying After Minneapolis Shooting
The News
Federal prosecutors have charged ICE officer Christian Castro, 52, with making false statements to federal investigators over the January shooting of a Venezuelan man in Minneapolis, a person familiar with the matter told the Associated Press.
Authorities say Castro shot Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, 24, in the leg on Jan. 14 during Operation Metro Surge, the Trump administration's immigration blitz in Minnesota.
The false-statements count is far less serious than what line prosecutors wanted. ProPublica reported that Justice Department leaders in Washington blocked a civil rights charge against Castro over the "strongest possible" objections of the assistant U.S. attorney handling the case.
That prosecutor, Matthew Evans, was fired Thursday and is now under investigation for alleged obstruction of a grand jury probe, the person familiar with the matter told the AP.
Timeline
Castro and another ICE agent chase Alfredo Aljorna, a Venezuelan immigrant, after a traffic stop, according to state charging documents. Aljorna runs to the home he shares with Sosa-Celis. Castro fires through the front door "knowing [the home] was occupied by several people," the documents say. Sosa-Celis is hit in the leg. Agents then deploy tear gas at the building and take the men into custody.
DHS says the agents were ambushed and beaten with a shovel or broomstick and that Castro fired in self-defense, calling Sosa-Celis and Aljorna "violent criminal illegal aliens." Then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem called the alleged attack "attempted murder."
Federal prosecutors drop the charges against both men after video contradicted the government's account. A federal judge in Minneapolis dismisses the case, with Minnesota's top federal prosecutor saying the government's version was "materially inconsistent with the allegations." Then-acting ICE director Todd Lyons said: "Video evidence has revealed the sworn testimony of the two agents appeared to be false."
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announces state charges against Castro, including assault with a dangerous weapon and false reporting of a crime. A Minnesota judge issues a nationwide arrest warrant in May.
Castro is arrested in Cameron County, Texas, and held in Brownsville. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott refuses to sign the extradition warrant sending him to Minnesota. Castro spends 90 days in jail as the two states fight.
Castro is released from the Cameron County detention center. U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. said he could not stop a county sheriff from releasing him or order Abbott to sign the warrant.
Evans emails lawyers for Sosa-Celis and other victims to say Castro will be charged "only with False Statements." "This is being directed by the Main Justice and the US Attorney," he wrote. "I objected in the strongest possible terms and fought it as hard as I could. It wasn't enough."
The AP reports the federal false-statements charge. The same source says Evans has been fired.
Reactions
Evans, in the email obtained by ProPublica, told the victims' lawyers the charge could come soon and would likely be filed under seal, closing: "It has been an honor and a privilege to try to get justice for your clients."
A Justice Department official told ProPublica that civil rights charges require consultation with the civil rights division in Washington and that "any charging decisions that come out of such investigations are collaborative and deliberative and adhere to the facts and law of that specific case and controversy." The department "has not yet reached a conclusion on this matter and will never rush an investigative process and the thorough review of all evidence," the official said.
The person who spoke to the AP disputed Evans' characterization, saying the investigation is continuing and no final decision has been made on additional charges.
Moriarty, who is running the state prosecution, said after Castro's release that she worried he would flee to Mexico. She compared the DOJ's decision to overrule Evans to the department's handling of the fatal shooting of Renee Good by ICE agent Jonathan Ross a week before Sosa-Celis was shot — agents said Good drove toward them, but video showed her wheels turned away. Federal officials first agreed to a joint investigation, then refused to cooperate with state police, ProPublica reported.
Evans and a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Minnesota declined to comment to ProPublica. Castro could not be reached.
What's Next
The federal false-statements case moves forward in Minnesota, where Castro also faces the state felony charges. The extradition fight with Texas is unresolved: Abbott has not signed the warrant, and Castro is out of custody in Texas with an outstanding Minnesota warrant against him.
The Justice Department says its investigation is open and further charges are not ruled out. Evans, meanwhile, is under investigation himself.
More
Sosa-Celis' shooting was one of three by immigration agents in Minneapolis during Operation Metro Surge, which sent thousands of federal agents into the state. The other two were fatal: Renee Good and Alex Pretti were killed. Castro was placed on leave by DHS.
A ProPublica analysis earlier this year found that in almost every case of immigration agents shooting someone, the administration blamed the injured or dead within hours, and federal or local police often declined to investigate the agents.
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