ICE agent charged after shooting during Minneapolis immigration crackdown

A federal US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent has been charged with assault following a January shooting involving two Venezuelan immigrants during an immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis.

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced that agent Christian Castro faces four counts of second-degree assault and one count of falsely reporting a crime.

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Authorities have issued a nationwide warrant for his arrest.

“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 at a news conference.

The charges stem from the shooting of Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis on January 14. Prosecutors allege Castro fired through the front door of a Minneapolis home, striking Sosa-Celis in the leg.

According to the criminal complaint, video footage contradicted Castro’s claims that he had been attacked with a shovel and broom during the confrontation.

Prosecutors said the footage showed a snow shovel remained on the ground during the incident.

The Department of Homeland Security criticised the charges, calling the case “unlawful and nothing more than a political stunt.”

Federal prosecutors had previously charged Sosa-Celis and his cousin Alfredo Aljorna in connection with the incident, but those charges were later dropped.

Two ICE agents involved were subsequently placed on administrative leave after investigators alleged false statements were made under oath.