Christian Castro makes first appearance in Minnesota state court

ICE agent charged with four counts of felony assault in January 14 shooting of Julio Sosa-Celis in Minneapolis during Operation Metro Surge

Bail set for Castro at $200K: Castro waves future extradition proceedings must surrender passport, remain law-abiding, have no contact with witnesses — including ICE agents

Appearance comes after AG Ellison’s lawsuit to compel Texas Gov. Abbott to sign extradition warrant to return Castro to Minnesota drew national attention — AG’s Office dismisses amended lawsuit now that Castro is facing justice in Minnesota

September 17, 2026 (SAINT PAUL) — Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced that Christian Castro made his first appearance today in Minnesota state court. On May 18, 2026, the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office in conjunction with the Minnesota Attorney General Office charged Castro, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent, with four counts of felony 2nd-degree assault with a dangerous weapon and one misdemeanor count of falsely reporting a crime in connection with the shooting of Julio Sosa-Celis in Minneapolis on January 14, 2026.

In Hennepin County District Court today, Castro signed a waiver of any future extradition proceedings and the court set bail for him at $200,000 with conditions, including that Castro remain law-abiding, attend all court appearances, possess no firearms or other weapons, surrender his passport if it is returned by the federal government, be on electronic home monitoring, and have no contact with witnesses — including his ICE team members. Castro’s next appearance in Hennepin County District Court will take place on November 3. Attorney General Ellison’s Office is supporting Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty’s Office in prosecutions arising from Operation Metro Surge.

Castro is also scheduled to appear in federal court in Saint Paul tomorrow morning on a related charge: on September 4, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota charged Castro with six counts of making materially false statements to the FBI during an interview on January 14 related to the shooting of Julio Sosa-Celis.

“I have repeatedly said that no matter how long Greg Abbott gives him sanctuary, Christian Castro will not escape justice in Minnesota. Today, Castro has begun facing justice here,” Attorney General Ellison said. “I should never have had to file a lawsuit to compel Texas to extradite Castro to Minnesota in the first place and I hope never to have to file another one like it — but I will not hesitate to do so to pursue justice for Minnesotans, wherever it leads me.

“In the meantime, Greg Abbott has gotten away with nothing — except turning Texas into a sanctuary state for violent criminals,” Attorney General Ellison concluded.

Attorney General Ellison’s dismissal of amended complaint against Texas Governor Abbott

Castro’s return to Minnesota to face the criminal charges laid against him comes in the context of Attorney General Ellison’s August 18 lawsuit to compel Texas Governor Greg Abbott to sign Minnesota’s warrant to extradite Castro, which Abbott had not signed for close to three months. Abbott has no legal discretion to refuse to sign extradition requests from Minnesota or any state. Attorney General Ellison’s lawsuit has drawn national attention. On August 26, a federal district court in Texas denied Attorney General Ellison’s petition for emergency relief, despite the imminent release of Castro from jail that Attorney General Ellison’s office warned the court about. The next day, Castro was released from a Texas jail where he had been held for 90 days pending Governor Abbott’s signature on the rendition warrant for him.

On September 15, and even though Castro by then had already turned himself in to federal authorities, Attorney General Ellison filed an amended complaint against Abbott. The amended complaint challenges Abbott’s claim that he must “investigate” whether Castro is a “fugitive” under the law because ICE, his employer, transferred him to Texas — a “clearly pretextual” argument that case law clearly refutes. The amended complaint also highlights Governor Abbott’s highly political public statements that make it clear that his “investigation” into Castro’s fugitive status — an investigation he has never once conducted in response to any extradition request from any state in the 12 years he has been governor of Texas — is a sham designed to shield Castro from justice indefinitely and further evidence that Abbott’s refusal to extradite Castro to Minnesota has been based in political gamesmanship.

Now that Castro has returned to Minnesota and has signed a waiver of extradition, Attorney General Ellison is voluntarily dismissing the lawsuit against Abbott without prejudice today.

Shooting of Julio Sosa-Celis during Operation Metro Surge

The May 18 criminal complaint alleges that on January 14, 2026, ICE agent Christian Castro fired a gun at the front door of a home in Minneapolis, Minnesota, while the home was occupied by multiple people. Castro’s gunshot struck a victim in the leg. The bullet’s final impact point was a child’s bedroom wall. The complaint further alleges that Castro “informed a law enforcement officer that a crime had been committed, or otherwise provided information to an on-duty peace officer regarding the conduct of others, knowing that such information was false.”

A criminal complaint is merely an allegation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.