MINNEAPOLIS – For the second time in as many days, ICE agent Christian Castro appeared in a courtroom for charges related to the shooting of a Venezuelan immigrant during Operation Metro Surge.

Castro, 52, pleaded not guilty Friday during a mostly procedural appearance in U.S. District Court in St. Paul. The proceedings were held one day after Castro appeared in state court for charges also tied to the Jan. 14 shooting of Julio Sosa-Celis and falsely reporting a crime.

The federal charges allege he lied six times to an FBI agent about the shooting, including that an unknown man struck him with a red broom, a third person hit him with a snow shovel, and he fired one round while the men ran away toward a home in a flurry of activity that he said lasted three minutes.

The federal indictment against Castro marked a rare moment for the Trump administration, which has largely stood by its agents amid the president’s aggressive immigration crackdown across the United States.

Video evidence unraveled Castro’s account, revealing the interaction only spanned 11 seconds and he allegedly shot Sosa-Celis through a door while standing.

Castro, who appeared in federal court wearing a black suit, agreed to court supervision and that he would not travel to Mexico as part of a number of conditions for his pretrial release. He did not make statements beyond his not guilty plea or brief responses to the judge.

The state and federal cases come after months of delays and legal calculations to bring Castro to Minnesota to stand trial. After the initial account of the shooting fell apart, Minnesota officials charged Castro with four counts of assault and one count of falsely reporting a crime. He was arrested in Texas and then held for 90 days as Gov. Greg Abbott weighed whether to extradite the agent to Minnesota.

The delay led Minnesota to sue Abbott to try to force the governor to extradite Castro to stand trial before he would be released from custody in accordance with Texas law. The state of Minnesota dropped the lawsuit against Abbott following Castro’s appearance in state court Thursday.

Castro was arrested Wednesday by Minnesota law enforcement in Minneapolis after traveling from his south Texas home ahead of his federal appearance. He was booked in Hennepin County jail and posted his $200,000 bail set by a judge in his state case.

According to his indictment, Castro joined ICE in September 2025 as a deportation officer following an eight-year career as a border patrol agent.

Castro’s federal indictment does not allege any laws were broken in the shooting, a point of contention with Sosa-Celis’ attorney. Robin Wolpert said the federal government “grossly undercharged” the case, which she said strongly supports civil rights charges. The civil rights violations are the same charges that prosecutors levied against former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in the murder of George Floyd. Chauvin pleaded guilty to those charges and is serving a 21-year prison sentence.

The Department of Justice has said additional charges have not been ruled out as investigators continue to evaluate the case.

The shooting in north Minneapolis unfolded while the city remained on edge in the aftermath of Renee Good’s killing by ICE agent Jonathan Ross. The incident sparked a night of unrest in the city and remarks from the Trump administration that Sosa-Celis and his roommates had attempted to kill Castro. Federal charges were later dropped against Sosa-Celis and his roommate at the request of prosecutors after video evidence conflicted with the initial account.

Castro’s next appearance in federal court will be determined at a later date. His next appearance in state court is Nov. 3.

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