ICE agent charged with assault in Minnesota shooting of Venezuelan man

MINNEAPOLIS (CN) — Minnesota state prosecutors filed criminal charges against a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer Monday in relation to the shooting of a Venezuelan immigrant in January.

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced 52-year-old ICE agent Christian Castro faces four counts of assault and one count of falsely reporting a crime after the agent shot Julio Sosa-Celis during an attempted immigration arrest on Jan. 14.

In a news conference Monday, Moriarty said Castro shot through the front door of a residence with the “intent to cause fear of immediate bodily harm or death” to the four adults on the other side of the door.

“Mr. Castro fired his service weapon at the front door of the home knowing there were people who had just run inside that presented absolutely no threat to him or anyone else,” Moriarty said. “The bullet punched through the front door and struck Mr. Sosa-Celis’ leg before traveling through a closet and lodging in the wall of a child’s bedroom.”

Shortly after the shooting, the Department of Homeland Security said in a news release that Sosa-Celis and his cousin Alfredo Aljorna attacked the ICE officer with a shovel and broom, prompting a defensive shot.

The Justice Department later filed federal charges against the two men, but hastily dropped them in February, citing “newly discovered evidence” that contradicted the accounts in both the initial affidavit and the preliminary hearings.

Outgoing ICE Director Todd Lyons said in February that video evidence revealed Castro and another federal officers involved in the shooting made “untruthful statements” in sworn testimony regarding the incident.

Video footage later released by the city of Minneapolis backs Lyons’ statement, showing no clear evidence of a snow shovel attack or “scuffle” at the time Castro fired his gun.

ICE did not respond to an initial request for comment, but the agency did tell Courthouse News in April both officers involved were placed on administrative leave pending an investigation — adding lying under oath is a serious federal offense.

Moriarty, who said both men were “lawfully” in Minnesota at the time of the shooting and victims of a mistaken identity incident, referenced the initial DHS release Monday, noting the inaccurate information still remains on the department’s website today.

“He was not hit by a shovel or a broom,” she said in the news conference. “In fact, he was not hit at all.”

Monday’s announcement marks the second time Minnesota prosecutors filed criminal charges against ICE agents for actions committed during Operation Metro Surge.

In April, ICE agent Gregory Donnell Morgan Jr. was charged with second-degree assault for pointing a gun at the heads of two civilians in a vehicle while driving illegally on the shoulder of a highway.

State legal action against federal officers is exceptionally rare due to extensive legal protections. The supremacy clause of the Constitution gives federal agents broad immunity from such prosecution, but Moriarty made clear her office will pursue charges despite the uphill battle.

“Mr. Castro is an ICE agent, but his federal badge does not make him immune from state charges for his criminal conduct in Minnesota,” Moriarty said in the press conference. “There is no such thing as absolute immunity for federal officers who commit crimes in this state and any other.”

Sosa-Celis was one of three Minnesotans shot by federal agents during the immigration crackdown earlier this year. The other two, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, were shot and killed by ICE officers.

Minnesota is currently seeking evidence in all three shootings as part of a March lawsuit.

“Nobody is above the law, including ICE agents,” Ellison said in a press release. “The state of Minnesota must hold people accountable for violating the law and for harming Minnesotans.”