A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer who was arrested in Texas earlier this year has been federally charged with lying to investigators about a January shooting in Minneapolis, according to .
ICE agent Christian Castro has been charged with making false statements to federal investigators, Thursday, citing a person familiar with the investigation who wasn鈥檛 authorized to publicly discuss the case.
The Texas Newsroom reached out to the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney鈥檚 Office in Minnesota on Thursday for confirmation and additional information but didn鈥檛 immediately receive a response.
Andrew Mahaleris, a spokesperson for Gov. Greg Abbott, referred questions about the reported charge to the Justice Department.
鈥淪tate law enforcement stands ready and willing to assist federal partners in facilitating Mr. Castro鈥檚 arrest if needed,鈥� Mahaleris said on Thursday.
The reported charge comes a week after amid an ongoing legal dispute between Minnesota and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott over whether Castro should be extradited to face separate state charges.
Minnesota prosecutors with assault and falsely reporting a crime over the Jan. 14 shooting of Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis during an immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis. Prosecutors say that Sosa-Celis and others attacked him before he opened fire. Sosa-Celis was shot in the leg.
Texas Rangers arrested Castro on May 29 after Minnesota issued a nationwide warrant. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz later requested his extradition, but Texas Gov. Greg Abbott hasn鈥檛 approved or denied the request and has questioned whether Castro qualifies as a fugitive.
Minnesota sued Abbott in an effort to force him to act, but a federal judge declined to intervene. Castro last week after reaching Texas鈥� 90-day detention limit for holding someone while awaiting extradition. The Minnesota charges and extradition request remain pending.
Thursday that a federal prosecutor who worked on the case was fired.
The prosecutor had previously told attorneys that Justice Department officials blocked an effort to pursue a more serious civil rights charge against Castro, according to previous reporting from . But a person familiar with the investigation disputed that account and told the AP that the prosecutor is now under investigation for alleged obstruction of a grand jury investigation.
