ICE agent pleads not guilty to lying to FBI in Minneapolis shooting

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer pleaded not guilty Friday to federal charges, alleging he lied to the FBI about the events leading up to the shooting of a Venezuelan man during operations in Minneapolis in January. 

A federal grand jury indicted Christian Castro, 52, in early September on six counts of making materially false statements to investigators, The Hill reported. Castro appeared before a magistrate judge in St. Paul on Friday, where he was arraigned on the charges. 

Prosecutors allege that Castro, who was previously charged in state court, shot and wounded Julio C. Sosa-Celis, an illegal immigrant from Venezuela. Sosa-Celis' shooting was followed by hours of protests and vandalism. 

Criminal charges against Sosa-Celis were dropped, and Castro was suspended without pay after video footage later emerged that contradicted key aspects of his initial federal account. He was deployed to Minneapolis earlier this year as part of the Trump administration's crackdown on illegal immigration. 

He is the first federal immigration officer to be prosecuted by the Justice Department for actions that occurred during Operation Metro Surge in the Twin Cities.