A federal grand jury has indicted an ICE officer on charges of making false statements about the nonfatal shooting of a man during the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota last winter, according to a person familiar with the case who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive information.
The charges against the officer, Christian Castro of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, marked 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 in contrast to 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.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
