A US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent wanted in connection with the shooting and wounding of a Venezuelan man in Minneapolis has been arrested, eight months after the incident that became a flashpoint in Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
Christian Castro was arrested in Minneapolis on Wednesday by agents of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and booked into Hennepin County Jail over an outstanding state warrant, the agency said.
Castro had travelled voluntarily from Texas to Minneapolis under an agreement with Minnesota authorities to surrender at the office of his lawyer, Daniel Gerdts. However, he was arrested shortly before reaching the location, Gerdts told Reuters.
Another lawyer representing Castro, Rolando Cantu, said his client had always intended to face the allegations in Minnesota and rejected suggestions that he could flee to Mexico.
“He wants his day in court,” Cantu said.
The ICE agent is facing state assault charges over the January 14 shooting of Venezuelan national Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis. Castro allegedly shot Sosa-Celis in the leg through the door of his apartment while children were inside the home.
He is also accused of falsely reporting the incident after allegedly telling his superiors at the Department of Homeland Security that Sosa-Celis and others had attacked him with a snow shovel and broom. Prosecutors said video evidence disproved that account.
Castro had previously been released on bond from federal custody after appearing in a district court in McAllen, Texas. He is separately accused in a federal case of lying to investigators about the circumstances surrounding the shooting.
The federal indictment against him represents the first Justice Department prosecution of a federal law enforcement officer accused of misconduct connected to Operation Metro Surge, the large-scale ICE deployment in Minneapolis.
The operation was part of Trump’s broader immigration enforcement campaign and triggered weeks of protests and clashes involving ICE agents and demonstrators. Two US citizens were also fatally shot by federal agents during the wider deployment.
Efforts to bring Castro before Minnesota authorities became complicated after he returned to Texas following the shooting. Minnesota officials issued an arrest warrant, and Castro was later apprehended by Texas Rangers.
However, Texas Governor Greg Abbott declined to sign extradition papers sent by Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. Abbott questioned whether Castro qualified as a fugitive because the Department of Homeland Security had reassigned him to Texas after the Minneapolis incident.
Castro subsequently spent 90 days in a Texas county jail before being released on August 27, after a federal judge rejected Minnesota’s request for an immediate extradition order.
He was arrested again in Texas following his federal grand jury indictment in early September.
The Department of Homeland Security has suspended Castro from ICE, while a person familiar with the matter said a civil rights investigation into the shooting of Sosa-Celis had also been opened.
Castro was expected to make his first state court appearance in Minneapolis on Thursday. He is also due to appear before a federal District Court in neighbouring St Paul, the Minnesota state capital, on Friday morning over the federal indictment.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty, whose office filed the state case, welcomed Castro’s arrest.
“Governor Abbott’s attempt to shield Mr Castro from accountability has failed. We look forward to commencing our prosecution,” she said in a statement.
