Minnesota federal prosecutor dismissed amid ICE officer investigation

A federal prosecutor in Minnesota who was leading an investigation into Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer Christian Castro has been fired, according to four sources familiar with the matter. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Evans was examining whether Castro committed civil-rights offenses in the January shooting of Venezuelan immigrant Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis. The Justice Department later charged Castro with making false statements about the incident, though the indictment remains sealed.

ProPublica reported that Evans warned the defendants' attorneys that Castro would likely face only a false-statement charge, which carries a lighter penalty than a civil-rights violation. An email attributed to Evans said the direction came from the main Justice and U.S. Attorney offices, and that he "objected in the strongest possible terms and fought it as hard as I could. It wasn't enough."

Sources said Evans is now under a Justice Department investigation, focusing on possible leaks of information. A federal grand jury returned a six-count indictment against Castro, who was taken into custody in Texas and is scheduled for an initial court appearance on Friday.

The case stems from a January encounter in Minneapolis during heightened immigration enforcement. After Sosa-Celis was shot in the leg, prosecutors initially charged him and another man, Alfredo Alejandro Aljorna, with assaulting federal officers. Subsequent evidence, including an FBI affidavit and video footage, contradicted the original Department of Homeland Security account, leading the Justice Department to drop the charges against the two men.

Todd Lyons, who headed ICE at the time, said a review of the video showed two ICE officers had made untruthful statements under oath and that the officers would be placed on administrative leave pending possible prosecution.