(WASHINGTON) — Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison has filed a federal lawsuit against Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to compel the extradition of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent charged with assault over a nonfatal shooting and alleged false reporting during Operation Metro Surge.
The ICE agent, Christian Castro, is accused of firing a gun at the front door of an occupied home in Minneapolis on Jan. 14, striking a Venezuelan man in the leg, then lying about the circumstances of the shooting, according to prosecutors.
Castro was charged in May with four counts of second-degree assault and one count of falsely reporting a crime. A Hennepin County District Court judge found probable cause for the charges and issued a nationwide warrant for Castro’s arrest, according to Ellison’s office.
On May 29, Texas Rangers located and arrested Castro, after which a Cameron County judge ordered him detained pending extradition proceedings, according to Ellison’s office.
Four days after Castro’s arrest, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz sent Abbott an extradition request, but, according to Ellison’s office, the Texas governor has “withheld a rendition warrant” directing law enforcement to transfer Castro back to Minnesota for prosecution.
“Now, Governor Abbott is trying to shield Castro from being held accountable for these serious charges by refusing to extradite him to Minnesota,” Ellison said in a statement on Tuesday. “Abbott’s refusal to extradite Castro is unconstitutional and violates federal law and Texas law. I will not stand for that, so I’m taking Abbott to court. Christian Castro will stand trial in Minnesota.”
ABC News reached out to the Texas governor’s office for comment on the Minnesota lawsuit but has not yet received a response.
The lawsuit also alleges that Manuel Trevino — the sheriff of Cameron County, Texas, who is named as a defendant in the federal complaint — has failed to make Castro available for extradition.
Ellison’s office said the attorney general will also be requesting a temporary restraining order “barring the Cameron County Sheriff’s Office from releasing Castro.”
The Cameron County sheriff declined to comment on the lawsuit.
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