By Whitney Wild, Ashley Killough

(CNN) — An ICE agent is facing several assault charges in connection with a January shooting involving two Venezuelan immigrants in Minnesota, according to Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty.

The federal agent, Christian Castro, has been charged with four counts of second degree assault and one count of falsely reporting a crime, Moriarty said at a news conference Monday. A nationwide warrant for his arrest has been issued.

CNN has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for comment and is working to determine whether Castro has an attorney.

“Mr. Castro is an ICE agent but his federal badge does not make him immune from state charges for his criminal conduct in Minnesota,” Moriarty told reporters. “I’ve said it many times, and I’ll say it again: There is no such thing as absolute immunity for federal officers who commit crimes in this state or any other.”

If convicted, Castro could face a sentence of three to seven years for each of the assault charges and/or a fine of up to $14,000. For the falsely reporting a crime charge, a misdemeanor, he could face up to 90 days in jail and/or a $1,000 fine.

The case marks the latest development in a flurry of cases brought by local and state prosecutors over ICE officers’ conduct during Operation Metro Surge, the Trump administration’s monthslong immigration enforcement operation in the Twin Cities.

The charges stem from the January 14 shooting of Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, who was shot by a federal agent through the front door of a Minneapolis home.

Sosa-Celis and his cousin Alfredo A. Aljorna were facing federal charges after the Department of Homeland Security said they had violently attacked an agent, prompting him to fire a defensive shot. But the Justice Department dropped the charges in February, and ICE said two of its agents who made false statements about the incident under oath were placed on administrative leave.

Evidence failed to support agent’s claims, prosecutors say

On Monday, Moriarty said Castro was never under threat during the incident and was not hit by a shovel, a broom or another object.

In footage captured by a city camera from an intersection near the home, Sosa-Celis could be seen outside the building holding a snow shovel when Aljorna pulled up in a vehicle and ran toward the home, according to the complaint filed by the state on Monday.

As Castro emerged from a second vehicle and ran after Aljorna, Sosa-Celis tossed the shovel to the ground and stepped back toward the front door, according to the complaint.

After Aljorna slipped on the ground as he attempted to reach the front door, Castro jumped on top of him and they had a brief struggle, the complaint said.

At one point, the agent and Aljorna were separated and Sosa-Celis helped his cousin off the ground and into the home. A few seconds later, Castro got off the ground and fired one shot through the front door, which hit Sosa-Celis in the leg, the complaint said.

The state alleges there were four adults and two children inside the home at the time of the shooting. One of the adults, who was not identified in the complaint, called 911 to report the shooting and said ICE agents remained outside after the gunshot and attempted to enter the home.

ICE agents then deployed tear gas, entered the home, and took all four adults into custody, the complaint said. It was almost an hour after the shooting that paramedics were allowed to treat Sosa-Celis and took him to the hospital, according to the filing.

The footage showed the snow shovel remained on the ground throughout the incident, according to the complaint, and both Sosa-Celis and Aljorna told investigators they each held or swung a broom at one point during the struggle but never struck Castro.

The complaint includes Castro’s statement to the FBI, in which he stood by his claim that he was assaulted by three men with a broom and a shovel. However, prosecutors said his account was contradicted by video of the incident, physical evidence, and accounts by the victims.

Federal agencies offered conflicting accounts of the shooting

The complaint offers a starkly different account from the initial statement by DHS in January, which identifies Sosa-Celis as the person the ICE agents were pursuing.

The agency also claimed at the time that two other men, including Aljorna, came out of a nearby apartment and attacked the agent. All three men struck the agent with a snow shovel or broom handle during the incident, the statement said, before the agent fired “a defensive shot to defend his life.”

But the next day, the DOJ offered a new account in a filing supporting criminal charges against the men, saying Aljorna was driving the vehicle agents were pursuing. Aljorna fled from the car, and he and Sosa-Celis struck the agent with a shovel or broom, the affidavit said.

In a stunning reversal, the Justice Department filed a motion in February seeking to drop criminal charges against the two Venezuelan men. In it, the DOJ said federal prosecutors provided incorrect information to the court, while ICE issued a statement admitting its federal agents made “false statements” under oath.

The two federal agents involved were placed on administrative leave while the Justice Department investigates their “untruthful statements,” which were revealed by a review of video evidence, then ICE Director Todd Lyons said in a statement at the time.

This story has been updated with additional information.

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