Updated

Updated · The Washington Post · Sep 8

DOJ Charges ICE Officer Christian Castro With 1 Felony in Minneapolis Shooting Probe

Updated

Updated · The Washington Post · Sep 8

DOJ Charges ICE Officer Christian Castro With 1 Felony in Minneapolis Shooting Probe

Q: What hidden evidence led to a career prosecutor being fired after pushing for stricter charges against the federal officer?

The key hidden evidence was video footage that contradicted Christian Castro’s account of the shooting and the alleged attack leading up to it. That video, described in multiple reports as surveillance and cellphone footage, undercut Castro’s claims that he had been attacked with a broom and shovel and had fired in self-defense. It also helped unravel the earlier federal assault case against Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis and Alfredo Aljorna. ICE’s then-acting director, Todd Lyons, publicly acknowledged that the video indicated sworn statements by Castro and another officer appeared to be false. That evidence became central to Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Evans’ push for a more serious civil-rights charge — deprivation of rights under color of law — rather than only false-statements charges. After ProPublica published Evans’ message saying he had objected “in the strongest possible terms” to the lesser charge, he was fired, according to ABC News, CBS News and AP reporting. So the “hidden evidence” was not a single secret document, but video evidence that had not matched the original official narrative and that prosecutors believed could support stricter charges against Castro. Reports also say Evans is now under Justice Department investigation over alleged leaking, though officials have said the broader civil-rights inquiry into Castro remains open.

3 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · Sep 8

Federal prosecutors unsealed an indictment accusing ICE officer Christian Castro of lying about the Jan. 14 shooting of 24-year-old Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, whom Castro allegedly hit in the leg by firing through a duplex door.
The case is unusual because DOJ has taken few visible steps in dozens of recent shootings involving DHS personnel, often leaving investigations to DHS offices rather than leading them through the FBI or Civil Rights Division.
Lawyers for Sosa-Celis and some prosecutors say the charge is too narrow, arguing DOJ should pursue a civil-rights case that would double Castro’s maximum prison exposure; Castro also faces Minnesota state charges.
The indictment lands amid criticism over stalled or limited federal scrutiny of the January Minneapolis killings of Alex Pretti and Renée Good, and after a prosecutor who objected to the lesser Castro charge was fired.
State and local authorities are increasingly stepping in—from Hennepin County to Houston—as confidence erodes in the federal government’s willingness to aggressively investigate immigration-agent shootings.

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10 Sources

What hidden evidence led to a career prosecutor being fired after pushing for stricter charges against the federal officer?

Why did federal prosecutors choose a false-statement charge over a civil rights violation when video evidence contradicted the officer's sworn testimony?