ICE agent pleads not guilty to lying about Minneapolis shooting

Agent is first to face federal charges for actions during Minneapolis ICE sweep Prosecutors says agent Castro lied that he was attacked with snow shovel Court appearances follow long extradition battle By Jonathan Allen Sept 18 (Reuters) — A US immigration agent pleaded not guilty on Friday to federal charges of lying to the FBI that he was attacked before shooting a Venezuelan man in the leg in Minneapolis at the height of President Donald Trump's deportation sweeps in January. Christian Castro, who has been suspended without pay from his job as a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent, is the first federal law enforcement officer to be charged by the US Justice Department with wrongdoing in Operation Metro Surge, which saw thousands of armed, masked agents deployed to Minnesota's cities last winter. Federal prosecutors say that Castro lied when he told investigators that Julio Sosa-Celis, 24, and others were attacking him with a broom and snow shovel when he fired his gun. Castro's plea in the US District Court in Saint Paul comes a day after he answered to separate state charges of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon and falsely reporting a crime brought by Henne