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Minnesota Charges ICE Agent in January Shooting of Venezuelan Man

The case tests Minnesota's push to hold federal agents to state law during Operation Metro Surge.

Overview

  • Hennepin County prosecutors, who announced charges Monday, filed four counts of second-degree assault and one count of falsely reporting a crime against ICE agent Christian J. Castro and obtained a nationwide arrest warrant.
  • Prosecutors say Castro fired through a closed front door while alone in the front yard, striking Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis in the leg as the bullet traveled into a child's bedroom wall.
  • Federal prosecutors earlier dropped assault cases against Sosa-Celis and Alfredo Alejandro Aljorna after city video contradicted agents’ sworn accounts, and ICE placed two officers on leave over possible false statements.
  • Court records set Castro’s bail at $200,000, and investigators said they identified him using hospital records and an interview conducted by state law enforcement at the scene.
  • Castro is the second federal officer charged from the surge, signaling a growing state–federal clash that could move the case to federal court as Minnesota seeks evidence and challenges claims of immunity.