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· collected 2026-09-04 · by Valerie Gonzalez And Alanna Durkin Richer The Associated Press
A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer, Christian Castro, has been accused of lying about a violent attack before shooting and wounding a Venezuelan man during an immigration crackdown in Minnesota last winter. According to a federal indictment, Castro falsely claimed he was attacked with a broom and shovel, but investigators found no evidence to support his story. The incident occurred outside a Minneapolis home where Castro had a brief physical interaction with two men, Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis and Alfredo Alejandro Aljorna, before shooting Sosa-Celis in the leg through the front door. Castro has pleaded not guilty to six counts of making false statements to investigators.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-04,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Christian Castro, a 52-year-old Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent, was accused of shooting Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, a Venezuelan immigrant, in the leg during an incident in Minneapolis on January 14. Castro initially claimed that he was being attacked with a broom and shovel by three individuals when he fired his weapon, but an indictment revealed that this account was false. Castro pleaded not guilty to six counts of making false statements to investigators, which carries a possible prison sentence of up to 20 years per count. Meanwhile, federal prosecutors in Minnesota had been preparing to charge Castro with deprivation of rights under color of law for the shooting, but their efforts were thwarted by the Department of Justice (DOJ) in Washington, D.C., which ultimately decided not to bring civil rights charges against him despite strong objections from a federal prosecutor handling the case.
Written for “ICE Officer Lied About Shooting” on 2026-09-05,
grounded in this article and the 3 other(s) covering the same event.
A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer falsely told investigators he was being attacked with a broom and shovel before he shot and wounded a Venezuelan man during the Minnesota immigration crackdown last winter, according to a federal indictment unsealed Friday.
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he → tell → indictment
Christian Castro pleaded not guilty to six counts of making false statements to investigators during an appearance in Texas federal court after turning himself into federal authorities Thursday evening.
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Castro → plead → authorities
He was shackled at his wrists, waist and feet during the brief hearing in McAllen.
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He → shackle → McAllen
A judge was expected later in the day to consider the government’s recommendation to release him with an ankle monitor.
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judge → expect → monitor
It’s the first Justice Department prosecution of a federal officer for actions taken during this year’s massive Operation Metro Surge, which brought thousands of agents to the Twin Cities and led to sweeping protests, arrests and the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens by federal officers.
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which → ’ → officers
The allegations in the federal indictment mirror those brought by Minnesota officials, who have separately charged Castro with assault and false reporting of a crime related to the nonfatal shooting of Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis in January.
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who → mirror → January
According to the federal indictment, Castro told an FBI agent that a man grabbed a red broom off a front porch and began hitting him with it while Castro was trying to detain another man outside a Minneapolis home.
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Castro → accord → home
Castro also claimed that another man hit him with a snow shovel and that he opened fire while on the ground as the men ran away.
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men → claim → ground
The indictment alleges that Castro had a short “physical interaction” with Sosa-Celis and another man, before the two ran into a home with a 1-year-old child inside.
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two → allege → child
Castro then fired a shot through the front door while standing as the men began to close it, hitting Sosa-Celis in the leg, the indictment says.
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indictment → fire → leg
“No person struck” Castro “with a broom as he described, and no persons wielded the broom and snow shovel as he described,” the indictment says.
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indictment → strike → broom
No attorney is listed for Castro in the case brought by Minnesota and it was not immediately clear if he had a lawyer to speak on his behalf.
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he → list → behalf
Federal prosecutors had initially charged Sosa-Celis and the other man, Alfredo Alejandro Aljorna, with assault but dropped the charges after video evidence showed the officer may have lied about the encounter.
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officer → charge → encounter
Castro was suspended from ICE in February while authorities pursued an investigation.
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authorities → suspend → investigation
The federal charges follow Castro’s release from jail last week after Texas’ governor refused to immediately sign an extradition warrant to hand him over to Minnesota authorities.
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governor → follow → authorities
The federal investigation into Castro created turmoil inside the Justice Department, with a prosecutor on the case accusing higher-ups of blocking efforts to bring more serious civil rights charges.
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prosecutor → create → charges
In an email obtained by ProPublica, the prosecutor told lawyers for Sosa-Celis and others that Castro would be charged only with making false statements over his “strongest objections,” adding the decision was “being directed by the Main Justice and the US Attorney.”
A person familiar with the investigation, however, told The Associated Press on Thursday that the civil rights probe is continuing and additional charges could still be brought.
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charges → obtain → Thursday
The prosecutor, Matthew Evans, has since been fired and the Justice Department is now investigating whether he broke any laws during his handling of the case, said the person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not publicly authorized to discuss ongoing investigations.
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they → fire → investigations
An automatic email response from Evans’ Justice Department account said he was on leave, and other attempts to reach him were not immediately successful.
Sosa-Celis’ lawyer is pressing for Castro to face stiffer charges, saying in a statement on Thursday that Castro’s statements were made to “cover up the fact that he shot my client through the door of an occupied house without a self-defense justification.”
“Mr. Sosa Celis wants Mr. Castro to be held fully accountable for his crimes,” said the attorney, Robin Wolpert.
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attorney → say → crimes
The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota said Thursday that Sosa-Celis also plans to seek damages from the federal government.
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Celis → say → government
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Richer reported from Washington.
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Richer → report → Washington
