ICE Agent Christian Castro Pleads Not Guilty to Federal Charges of Lying to FBI About Minneapolis Shooting

ICE officer Christian Castro pleaded not guilty on Friday, September 18, 2026 in federal court to six counts of making false statements to the FBI regarding his January 14, 2026 shooting of Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, a 24-year-old Venezuelan man, during Operation Metro Surge in Minneapolis. Federal prosecutors say Castro shot Sosa-Celis in the leg through the front door of a Minneapolis home and then falsely told investigators he had been attacked with a broom handle and a snow shovel before firing. U.S. Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Cowan Wright set bond at $75,000, requiring a GPS ankle monitor, surrender of Castro's passport and personal firearms, a 9 p.m.–6 a.m. curfew, a mental health evaluation, and travel restricted to Minnesota and Texas. Castro is the first federal law enforcement officer charged by the Justice Department with wrongdoing arising from Operation Metro Surge, and separately faces Hennepin County state charges of second-degree assault in the same shooting.