ICE Agent Now in Custody on Federal Charges

A US 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. Christian Castro pleaded not guilty to six counts of making false statements to investigators during an appearance in Texas federal court after turning himself in to federal authorities Thursday evening. He was shackled at his wrists, waist, and feet during the brief hearing in McAllen, the AP reports. A judge was expected later in the day to consider the government's recommendation to release him with an ankle 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 US citizens by federal 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.

• 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. 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.
• 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. 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. 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.

• 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.
• 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. 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 that the decision was "being directed by the Main Justice and the US Attorney."
• A person familiar with the investigation, however, told the AP Thursday that the civil rights probe is continuing and additional charges could still be brought. 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.