Federal Prosecutors Charge ICE Agent With Lying About Minnesota Shooting
New York Times · LC · trust 48/100
The charges are a rare instance of President Trump’s Justice Department accusing a federal agent of breaking the law while on the job.
Listen · 4:05 min Share full article Federal agents near the scene of the shooting in Minneapolis in January. Credit... David Guttenfelder/The New York Times By Mitch Smith and Ernesto Londoño
The charges against the officer, Christian Castro of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, represent a rare instance of President Trump’s Justice Department accusing a federal agent of criminal wrongdoing at work.
Mr. Castro, who had been previously charged in state court, was among the thousands of federal agents who flooded Minnesota over the objections of local officials. Those agents made thousands of arrests, clashed regularly with residents and shot three people during the campaign, leaving two U.S. citizens dead.
The indictment against Mr. Castro was filed under seal and officials expect to make it public once he is in custody.
Prosecutors said Mr. Castro shot and wounded Julio C. Sosa-Celis, who is from Venezuela and who lacked legal status in the United States. The Jan. 14 shooting was followed by hours of protests and vandalism.
Top Trump administration officials initially came to Mr. Castro’s defense. But unlike the administration’s position in other shootings, federal officials publicly distanced themselves from Mr. Castro in the weeks that followed. Criminal charges against Mr. Sosa-Celis and another man were dropped, Mr. Castro was suspended and video footage emerged that contradicted key aspects of the initial federal account.
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