By Max Nesterak | Deputy Editor
Good morning, Reformers.
There are multiple developments this morning in the case of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Officer Christian Castro, who is accused of shooting Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis in the leg in Minneapolis during Operation Metro Surge.
A federal grand jury indicted Castro on charges of making false statements, the New York Times first reported on Thursday, noting the indictment would be unsealed once he was in custody. Castro turned himself in later that day, the Associated Press reported.
The federal charge comes after Trump’s Department of Justice intervened to quash plans to bring civil rights charges against Castro over the “strongest possible” objections of local assistant U.S. attorney Matthew Evans, according to an email reviewed by ProPublica.
Evans has been fired, according to CBS News.
The revelations, reported across numerous national news outlets, underscore both the rarity of a federal officer being charged for conduct on the job and the Trump administration’s unusually close involvement in criminal justice decisions.
Castro was charged in Minnesota in May with four counts of second-degree assault and one count of falsely reporting a crime. He is accused of firing his gun through the closed front door of a north Minneapolis home, hitting Sosa-Celis in the leg and endangering other people in the home.
He was arrested in Texas but then released from jail after Minnesota officials lost a rare extradition fight with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.
To the Reformer:
Chip Tangen, Libertarian candidate for secretary of state, shows how few legislative districts have third-party candidates with his prize wheel at the Minnesota State Fair on Aug. 27, 2026. (Photo by Max Nesterak/Minnesota Reformer)
By Max Nesterak
Chip Tangen is sure to lose in November. He’s the Libertarian candidate for secretary of state.
But there he is in the blazing heat at the Minnesota State Fair, waving to passersby and handing out campaign fliers with the enthusiasm of a candidate sailing to victory.
The State Fair offers a unique opportunity to reach tens of thousands of voters for underdog candidates without well-funded campaigns or armies of volunteers — like minor party candidates, as well as Republicans running in indigo blue Minneapolis or Democrats in ruby red regions of greater Minnesota.
“It’s a good equalizer,” Tangen said at his post at the Libertarian Party stand. “We’re all talking on an equal basis with people.”
By Nada Hassanein
An elementary schooler has gone without surgery to treat a rare, life-threatening neck infection that isn’t responding to antibiotics.
Another young child can’t use their hearing aids because the family ran out of batteries and hasn’t come to get replacements.
Yet another child’s cochlear implant surgery was delayed by several months.
Many healthcare providers report that since January 2025, they’ve seen a surge in missed pediatric appointments, delayed preventive care, and sick or injured kids going without treatment. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests have continued to climb — with a record 51,000 arrests in July — and experts predict continued unhealthy outcomes among children, causing collateral damage that could extend for years.
By Jacob Fischler
The Trump administration asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday to overturn a lower court and allow it to enforce a U.S. Postal Service rule restricting mail-in voting.
The trial judge, Indira Talwani of the U.S. District of Massachusetts, prejudged the rule before it was final when she issued a temporary restraining order last month and upheld it last week, U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote. The rule only regulates standards of mail delivery and doesn’t interfere with election administration, Sauer argued.
“Contrary to the claims of the district court and respondents that the Postal Service is trying to federalize the rules for mail-in voting, the Postal Service’s final rule imposes only modest envelope-design and addressee-information requirements for federal-election ballots sent via U.S. Mail,” Sauer said.
IN OTHER NEWS
Years of threats preceded deadly Minneapolis shooting | Star Tribune
EPA proposal could leave the public in the dark on data center plans | Associated Press
Happy Labor Day weekend. Here’s a song for the end of summer.
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