Keith Ellison
Role at the time: Attorney General of Minnesota, in an official press release
Response to this claim
Castro was not attacked with any shovel, broom or other weapon. He was standing alone in the front yard when he drew his weapon and fired a single shot through the closed front door of the home, after Sosa-Celis and Aljorna had already gone inside.
“Nobody is above the law, including ICE agents. The State of Minnesota must hold people accountable for violating the law and for harming Minnesotans. I support the filing of these charges, and I am working closely with Hennepin County Attorney Moriarty to ensure we reach a just outcome here.”
The Minnesota Attorney General's Office's release, read in full on 2026-09-22, announcing four felony second-degree-assault counts and one misdemeanor false-reporting count against Castro, filed jointly with the Hennepin County Attorney's Office. It quotes the Hennepin County Attorney's Office's own press release directly, including its statement that the DHS release "along with its dozens of false statements, remains on the DHS website."
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Why we used this label
The case’s fixed reference point is whether Officer Christian Castro’s decision to fire his weapon during the January 14, 2026 encounter with Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis was justified. Ellison endorses the charges against Castro and frames his conduct as harm requiring accountability, which condemns the shooting.