A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer who was arrested in Texas earlier this year has been federally charged with lying to investigators about a January shooting in Minneapolis, according to The Associated Press.
ICE agent Christian Castro has been charged with making false statements to federal investigators, the AP reported Thursday, citing a person familiar with the investigation who wasn’t authorized to publicly discuss the case.
The Texas Newsroom reached out to the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Minnesota on Thursday for confirmation and additional information but didn’t immediately receive a response.
The reported charge comes a week after Castro was released from a Texas jail amid an ongoing legal dispute between Minnesota and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott over whether Castro should be extradited to face separate state charges.
Minnesota prosecutors charged Castro in Maywith assault and falsely reporting a crime over the Jan. 14 shooting of Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis during an immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis. Prosecutors say evidence contradicted Castro’s accountthat Sosa-Celis and others attacked him before he opened fire. Sosa-Celis was shot in the leg.
Texas Rangers arrested Castro on May 29 after Minnesota issued a nationwide warrant. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz later requested his extradition, but Texas Gov. Greg Abbott hasn’t approved or denied the request and has questioned whether Castro qualifies as a fugitive.
Minnesota sued Abbott in an effort to force him to act, but a federal judge declined to intervene. Castro was released from jail last week after reaching Texas’ 90-day detention limit for holding someone while awaiting extradition. The Minnesota charges and extradition request remain pending.
The AP also reported Thursday that a federal prosecutor who worked on the case was fired.
The prosecutor had previously told attorneys that Justice Department officials blocked an effort to pursue a more serious civil rights charge against Castro, according to previous reporting from ProPublica. But a person familiar with the investigation disputed that account and told the AP that the prosecutor is now under investigation for alleged obstruction of a grand jury investigation.
