WASHINGTON, D.C. — A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer accused of shooting a Venezuelan man through the front door of a Minneapolis home in January and then lying to investigators turned himself in to federal authorities Thursday on charges of making false statements, a person familiar with the matter told the Associated Press.
Christian Castro, 52, was taken into federal custody after the Justice Department filed the charges, marking a significant legal escalation in a case that has drawn national attention to the conduct of officers during the largest immigration enforcement operation in the agency’s history. The federal charges come just one week after Castro walked free from a Texas jail following an extradition standoff, and on the same day a career prosecutor who sought tougher charges against him was fired. Castro has not entered a plea to either the state or the new federal charges, and no attorney was listed for him in the Minnesota case as of Thursday.
The shooting took place on Jan. 14, when Castro and another officer chased a man named Alfredo Alejandro Aljorna to an apartment duplex in Minneapolis. Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, a Venezuelan immigrant who lived at the address, was struck in the thigh when Castro allegedly fired through the front door of the residence. Minnesota prosecutors allege Castro then made false accusations, claiming that Sosa-Celis and another man inside the home had attacked an ICE officer using a broom handle and a snow shovel. Based on those allegations from Castro, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Minnesota initially charged Sosa-Celis and the other man. Those charges were later dropped after ICE said video evidence surfaced showing the officers may have lied about the encounter, according to officials. ICE suspended Castro without pay in February while the federal investigation moved forward.
In May, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty charged Castro with four counts of second-degree assault and one count of falsely reporting a crime in connection with the same shooting. Castro was arrested and held in Brownsville, Texas — a city on the Mexican border — while Minnesota officials sought his extradition. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott refused to immediately sign off on the extradition warrant, citing what he described as ongoing investigations into fraud in Minnesota government social service programs. Minnesota officials who sought to block Castro’s release expressed concern he could flee to Mexico; a lawsuit filed by the state cited a recorded conversation in which Castro allegedly spoke with a woman about marrying her and buying a house in Mexico after his release. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison sued Abbott in an attempt to compel extradition, but a federal judge ruled last week that he lacked authority to intervene in extradition disputes between states. Castro was released from custody shortly after that ruling.
The shooting occurred during what the Department of Homeland Security called Operation Metro Surge, a sweeping immigration enforcement action in the Minneapolis–St. Paul metro area that began in January 2026. Thousands of federal officers were deployed in what DHS described as its largest immigration enforcement operation ever. The operation drew intense scrutiny after two U.S. citizens, identified as Renee Good and Alex Pretti, were shot and killed by federal officers during the sweep, prompting condemnation and forcing changes to how the operation was conducted. Castro is the first federal immigration officer to face federal prosecution in connection with actions taken during Operation Metro Surge. The Department of Homeland Security had previously dismissed Minnesota’s state prosecution of Castro as “unlawful and nothing more than a political stunt,” arguing that only federal authorities held jurisdiction over the case.
The same day Castro surrendered to federal authorities, a separate and significant development unfolded inside the Justice Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Evans, a career prosecutor who had been helping lead the federal investigation into Castro, was fired Thursday. According to a report published Wednesday by ProPublica, Evans had written a letter to Sosa-Celis’ attorney stating that senior DOJ officials had blocked his effort to bring a more serious civil rights charge against Castro — specifically, a charge known as “deprivation of rights under color of law.” Evans wrote in the letter that he objected in the “strongest possible” terms to the decision, which he said was made by U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen and officials at the Justice Department’s main headquarters in Washington. ProPublica said it obtained a copy of the letter. An automatic email reply from Evans’ Justice Department account said he was on leave, and other attempts to reach him were unsuccessful Thursday. A Justice Department spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ABC News.
Officials close to the investigation pushed back on Evans’ account. A person familiar with the probe told the Associated Press that Evans’ characterization was disputed and that the civil rights investigation into Castro remains active, with no final decision yet made on whether additional charges will be filed. The same person said Evans is now under investigation himself for alleged obstruction of a grand jury probe. Robin Wolpert, an attorney representing Sosa-Celis, did not accept that framing. “The Justice Department has grossly undercharged this case,” Wolpert said, adding that Castro’s false statements were made “to cover up the fact that he shot my client through the door of an occupied house without a self-defense justification.” Wolpert said her client wants Castro “held fully accountable for his crimes.” The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota said Thursday that Sosa-Celis also plans to pursue damages from the federal government. When Castro was suspended in February, then-acting ICE Director Todd Lyons said the agency would not tolerate violations of officers’ sworn obligations. “The men and women of ICE are entrusted with upholding the rule of law and are held to the highest standards of professionalism, integrity, and ethical conduct,” Lyons said at the time. “Violations of this sacred sworn oath will not be tolerated.”
As of Thursday, Christian Castro faces federal charges of making false statements to investigators, as well as four counts of second-degree assault and one count of falsely reporting a crime under Minnesota state law. No plea has been entered in either case. The federal civil rights probe into the shooting remains open, and officials say a determination on whether Castro will face additional charges — including the more serious civil rights offense Evans advocated for — has not yet been made. The next legal milestone is expected to be Castro’s initial appearance on the federal false statements charge, though a hearing date had not been publicly announced as of Thursday evening.
