ICE officer pleads not guilty to lying about Minneapolis shooting involving Venezuelan man

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Cite

Casiano, L. (2026, September 4). ICE officer pleads not guilty to lying about Minneapolis shooting involving Venezuelan man. Fox News. https://www.foxnews.com/us/ice-officer-pleads-not-guilty-lying-minneapolis-shooting-involving-venezuelan-man

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Fox News · collected 2026-09-04 · by Louis Casiano

Quick Summary

Christian Castro, an ICE officer, pleaded not guilty in a Texas federal court on Friday to six charges of making false statements about the January shooting of Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, a Venezuelan man. The charges stem from a shooting that occurred on January 14 during a targeted immigration crackdown in Minneapolis. According to federal prosecutors, Castro's account of the incident was contradicted by video evidence, which showed him standing up when he fired his weapon and only struggling with the suspect for 11 seconds, not three minutes as he claimed. Castro faces separate charges in Minnesota and was ordered released on $75,000 unsecured bond.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b 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).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

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 2026-10-21, grounded in this article and the 3 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 ICE Officer Lied About Shooting
Crime & Law · 4 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans left and hedges 29% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
ICE officer lied about shovel and broom attack before Minnesota shooting, Justice Department alleges same event · 100%
Toronto Star · 0.85 cosine similarity
⚖️ Leans left 🔴 19% hedged 4 of 21 📰 publisher trust 63
“Both articles report on Christian Castro's not guilty plea to lying about a January shooting in Minneapolis involving a Venezuelan man, with identical details and dates.”
Trump’s DOJ Blocked Serious ICE Shooting Charge Over Federal Prosecutor’s “Strongest Possible” Objections same event · 100%
ProPublica
⚖️ Leans strongly left further left than this 🔴 22% hedged 8 of 37 📰 publisher trust 96
“Both articles describe the exact same incident: Christian Castro's shooting of Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis in Minneapolis and his subsequent lying about it, including the dates, locations, and charges involved.”
A Federal Indictment Charges an ICE Officer With Lying About a Shooting That DHS Eagerly Defended same event · 100%
Reason
⚖️ Leans left 🔴 17% hedged 12 of 72 📰 publisher trust 67
“Both articles describe the same incident: Christian Castro shooting Julio C. Sosa-Celis in Minneapolis on January 14, and his subsequent indictment for lying about it.”
This U.S. Citizen Is Suing ICE for Arresting Him 3 Times. His Lawsuit Is Moving Forward. different event · 80%
Reason
⚖️ Leans left 🔴 21% hedged 7 of 33 📰 publisher trust 67
“Article A reports on an ICE officer being charged with lying about a shooting, while Article B describes a separate incident of mistaken arrest of an American citizen by ICE”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
17
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
29%
5 of 17 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans left
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
67/100
Fox News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
4
Crime & Law
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-04 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Fox News · 4913 article(s) · 9 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 9 correction(s)
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Who wrote this

Louis Casiano
47 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 The district remembered her as a bright light for her "students, family, and our community," adding, "She will be missed beyond words can express." The district also praised Becky Drury, an inclusion educational assistant who was injured during the attack and is currently recovering.
2026-10-18 · assertive framing · Bend school district honors slain teacher, praises staff member's courage during attack: ‘Forever grateful’
🔮 Federal prosecutors cited his travel plans when asking a federal judge to seal the criminal complaint and arrest warrant against him, arguing that public knowledge of the case would prompt him to possibly flee the country. "Disclosure of the specified documents might jeopardize the defendant's arrest," court documents state.
2026-10-15 · mixed framing · Ex-OpenAI engineer charged with planting recording device had one-way flight booked to Saudi Arabia, DOJ says
🔮 In the background, a crowd can be heard voicing anger and dismay at the shooting.
2026-10-09 · assertive framing · Federal judge blocks deportation of Dominican illegal immigrant shot by ICE during NYC arrest attempt
🔮 Stephen Federico is championing "Logan’s Law," a legislative proposal that would mandate a public database for repeat violent offenders, force cross-county and interstate communication, and hold prosecutors accountable when handling habitual criminals.
2026-10-09 · assertive framing · Logan Federico’s dad says criminals have become 'more important' than victims, pushes repeat offender registry
🔮 New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani dined Wednesday at a Palestinian restaurant whose sister location faced intense criticism in 2023 over menu language that critics called anti-Semitic.
2026-10-08 · assertive framing · Mamdani dined at NYC restaurant linked to anti-Israel menu after being booed at Oct 7 vigil: report
🔮 Instead, she was killed because two adult men resorted to deadly violence to resolve an argument over a parking spot," Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said.
2026-10-08 · assertive framing · Maryland man accused of girl's fatal shooting released from prison days before
🔮 In another spot, Trump directly addresses the audience: "With you at my side, we will demolish the Deep State.
2026-10-07 · assertive framing · DNC lawsuit accuses Trump administration of diverting $20M in federal funds for 'propaganda' ads
🔮 What you see today will be drastically different tomorrow."
2026-10-07 · assertive framing · The best defense against high-tech AI scams is low-tech skepticism, expert warns
🔮 Even if Shipilova's death is an isolated incident, Russia's history of hiding information related to sensitive matters could leave many outside observers with doubts, Hoffman said.
2026-10-06 · assertive framing · Russian bio-leak secrecy follows Chernobyl playbook, ex-CIA officer warns
🔮 Trump will headline a rally in Grand Island alongside U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts and Gov. Jim Pillen as part of a multi-state swing ahead of the upcoming midterm elections.
2026-10-05 · assertive framing · Trump rallies in city where alleged MS-13 ‘assassination squad’ leader was busted
Also by Louis Casiano
Bend school district honors slain teacher, praises staff member's courage during attack: ‘Forever grateful’
2026-10-18 · Fox News
Ex-OpenAI engineer charged with planting recording device had one-way flight booked to Saudi Arabia, DOJ says
2026-10-15 · Fox News
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2026-10-15 · Fox News
Federal agents seize phone of Rep. Ilhan Omar in raid tied to immigration fraud probe
2026-10-14 · Fox News
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 47 articles by Louis Casiano →

Topics

Minneapolis Minnesota Texas U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Venezuelan

Subjects

Castro PERSON · 8× Texas GPE · 3× Venezuelan NORP · 3× Minneapolis GPE · 2× Minnesota GPE · 2× Sosa-Celis PERSON · 2× Christian Castro PERSON · 1× ICE ORG · 1× Trump PERSON · 1× U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement ORG · 1×

Narrative

Sosa-Celis attempted to help the driver, and they both fled into a nearby apartment duplex and shut the door. Castro drew his service weapon and fired a single shot through the front door, striking Sosa-Celis in the leg, federal prosecutors said.
framing: mixed · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-04
🔮 Castro faces separate charges in Minnesota and was previously arrested in Texas in May.
2026-09-04 · Fox News
ICE officer pleads not guilty to lying about Minneapolis shooting involving Venezuelan man · mixed framing

Claims (17 extracted, 5 hedged)

A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer pleaded not guilty Friday to charges of lying about a January shooting of a Venezuelan man in Minneapolis during the Trump administration's crackdown on illegal immigration. asserted
officer → plead → immigration
Christian Castro appeared in a Texas federal court where he faces six charges of making "materially false" statements to investigators, according to federal court documents unsealed Friday. uncertain
he → appear → documents
He turned himself in to authorities Thursday evening. asserted
He → turn → authorities
A judge ordered Castro released on a $75,000 unsecured bond and required him to wear an ankle monitor. asserted
Castro → order → monitor
The charges stem from the Jan. 14 shooting of Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, a Venezuelan man who was shot in the leg. asserted
who → stem → leg
Moments earlier, Castro and his partner attempted to stop a vehicle. asserted
Castro → attempt → vehicle
The driver, also a Venezuelan citizen, fled, triggering a foot chase. asserted
driver → flee → chase
Castro caught up to the driver and a physical struggle ensued, according to the indictment. uncertain
struggle → catch → indictment
Sosa-Celis attempted to help the driver, and they both fled into a nearby apartment duplex and shut the door. Castro drew his service weapon and fired a single shot through the front door, striking Sosa-Celis in the leg, federal prosecutors said. asserted
prosecutors → attempt → leg
Two 1-year-old children and two women were inside the home when Castro opened fire, prosecutors added. asserted
prosecutors → open → fire
In an attempt to justify the shooting, Castro allegedly told investigators he was brutally assaulted by multiple individuals wielding tools, claiming he was hit with a broom and a snow shovel during the confrontation. uncertain
he → justify → confrontation
He also claimed he was on his back when he fired toward the fleeing men, officials said. asserted
officials → claim → men
However, video evidence later contradicted those statements, prompting an investigation. asserted
evidence → contradict → investigation
Federal prosecutors said Castro was standing up when he opened fire, and they disputed his claim that he fought the suspect on the ground for three minutes, noting the struggle actually lasted about 11 seconds. uncertain
struggle → say → seconds
The shooting occurred amid a targeted crackdown on illegal immigration in Minneapolis. asserted
shooting → occur → Minneapolis
Castro faces separate charges in Minnesota and was previously arrested in Texas in May. uncertain
Castro → face → May
His case has sparked a legal battle involving Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who has refused to extradite him to Minnesota. asserted
who → spark → Minnesota
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