Trump’s DOJ Arrests an ICE Agent

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One juror who refuses to listen to the law. law on reasonable doubt. Dramatic scenes in court with murder charges hanging in the balance and a feminist icon passes the baton. She really had to fight hard to be taken seriously as a political journalist. The life and times of Gloria Steinem and where her movement goes from here. From ABC News, this is Start Here. I'm Brad Milkey. In each of the last two months, Immigration and Customs Enforcement has arrested 50,000 people. Either of those months by themselves would be a record. Taken together, this is a huge surge. The last time we saw such a surge under the Trump administration was this past winter. Remember in January, the killings of Renee Good and Alex Preddy by immigration officers in Minnesota? Well, in between those shootings, there was another one. An ICE agent named Christian Castro shot a Venezuelan immigrant in the leg. Immediately we were told by government officials this shooting was justified. Our ICE agents are following the law and running their operations according to training. They said the agent reported being attacked, ambushed by men wielding a shovel and a broom handle. Eventually though, video came out showing Castro had not been attacked. In fact, he had fired through a door at a man he couldn't see. Well yesterday, in a very rare instance during this immigration crackdown, the Trump Justice Department brought federal charges against one of its own. And now this case is spiraling in all sorts of ways. ABC's Alex Mallon covers the Justice Department. Alex, first off, what are these charges against this ICE officer? Yeah, so these charges against Christian Castro, Brad, are so extraordinary because it's the first time that we've seen the Justice Department, the federal government, get involved and actually prosecute one of the federal agents that were dispatched in these immigration surges that we saw earlier this year. And these charges against Castro come after federal officials say that he lied about that account of his interactions with two of these undocumented immigrants in Minneapolis, who later, when video footage came out, fully disproved his statements. And we got this rare, extremely rare backpedaling from ICE at the time that essentially accused Castro and another agent of making false statements in their interviews with officials. So these charges presumably would have been used against Castro. And so we've got these charges against Castro, which have been seen as a long time coming, given we've heard ICE publicly acknowledge that they made these false statements. And so that is what makes this more extraordinary. And the fact that the federal government is bringing these charges, we already have seen state charges leveled at various ICE officials, including actually this officer who was charged yesterday. Well, that's what I was thinking. State officials in Minnesota had been trying to get their hands on this guy for a while, right? So this federal case is kind of the same but different. Yeah. So Castro was charged in May by state officials, the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office, who was charged in May by state officials. The Hennepin County DA in Minneapolis with assault and false statements charges related to this shooting incident. Now, since those charges were released, officials in Minnesota have been battling with state officials in Texas trying to get Castro extradited. We had to file this lawsuit in order to compel Governor Abbott to do his basic function as a governor of a state. Well, listen, while they're making demands, I got a demand of my own. And that is, it's time, for Minnesota to step up and repay the United States of America and Americans for all the fraud that they've committed in their state. This actually came to a head last week in federal court. Minnesota had sued to try and force Castro's extradition, which had been resisted by Governor Greg Abbott. And actually, Minnesota lost. Well, now he's apparently self-surrendered, right? So I guess now I'd assume he goes wherever the feds want him to go. Alex, because we're talking about how extraordinary it is that the federal government is bringing charges against one of their own immigration agents. But you've reported that this prosecutor leading the investigation was fired yesterday. How does that play into this? Yeah, this is actually another extraordinary element of this, because we know that there's already been a lot of friction between the U.S. Attorney's Office in Minnesota, those career-line prosecutors who've been tasked by the federal government officials here at Maine Justice in Washington, D.C., with mounting this extraordinary crackdown, not just on immigration, but also people who've been protesting the immigration actions of this administration. And yesterday, what we learned is, this prosecutor, Matthew Evans, was fired because a letter that was reported on by ProPublica that he had sent to the Venezuelan victim in this case, who was shot by Castro, he disclosed in this letter to the lawyer that he was actually seeking to bring a more harsh criminal charge that's a civil rights violation known as deprivation under color of law. Oh, not just lying to investigators, but like civil rights law. Yes, exactly. This charge, which would be specifically with respect to what the U.S. Attorney's Office is doing, is a civil rights violation known as deprivation under what he did to this Venezuelan immigrant in this shooting, that that would make him eligible for a much stricter sentence should he be convicted of that. And this prosecutor, Matthew Evans, disclosed that he was being blocked by officials at Maine Justice and the U.S. Attorney in Minnesota. Now, we understand from sources familiar with the matter, they dispute Evans's characterization in this letter. They say that this is still an open civil rights investigation into Castro, but we know Evans was fired as a result of this letter. Wow. So this just shows another way that the Justice Department is really cracking down on prosecutors who seek to separate themselves from the actions of this administration. That's what I was going to ask, Alex, was what does all this mean for the DOJ? Because like you said, on one hand, huge deal that they are prosecuting a federal agent. But does this also mean there are people of the DOJ who don't want these types of cases to go forward, who don't want prosecutors taking the extra step of saying like, hey, maybe we should think about how we're doing these crackdowns? Yeah. And I think it just speaks more to the police and federal law enforcement. ICE is vital to the well-being of our country. There's not one thing that they can say that they're doing that is outside the law. We've heard from President Trump, other top officials across the government that they will always, quote unquote, back the blue. And that would seemingly, you know, not involve federal law enforcement prosecuting the actions of law enforcement. And we've seen the Civil Rights Division at DOJ vastly slimmed down. The parts of DOJ that would typically investigate police have been reoriented and shifted over towards investigating things like immigration. And so it would be, you know, a really extraordinary development if you saw civil rights charges on the federal level be brought against a federal law enforcement official. It's not something that I think that we would expect to see. And it would really reflect the concerns that were leveled by this prosecutor in Minnesota who says that he was specifically blocked from bringing any. Wow. And so now Castro is making an appearance today in Texas. And remember, there are state charges hanging over his head if he's extradited back to Minnesota. No plea yet. Although Castro's lawyer has said, for the record, he did not flee Minnesota. He said he was obligated to be back in Texas for work. Alex Mallon, thank you so much. Thanks, Brad. Next up on Start Here, jurors say they're deadlocked and Lindsey Clancy's lawyers say they know what's taking them so long. We're back in a bit. This show is sponsored by ZipRecruiter. Can you think of the last time someone went above and beyond for you? Like the barista at your local coffee shop who mysteriously remembered your birthday? Or that concierge you met on your last trip who saw you had a bird keychain and made a point to tell you about the local bird sanctuary? Those fleeting moments may be small, but they really make a difference. It's the kind of positive impression you want to see from everyone in your life, and especially from the candidates that you're hiring. 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Start here for 50% off the best betting you will ever sleep on. That's abcsecretsavings.com. Slash start here. All week, we've been waiting for a verdict in the trial of Lindsay Clancy, the Massachusetts mother admitted to strangling her three children, Cora, Dawson, and Callen. But while prosecutors call this a case of cold-blooded murder, she claims she wasn't in her right mind. Jurors have been tasked with deciding whether this all in fact stemmed from a case of postpartum psychosis. All week, jurors have deliberated. And all week, they've been tasked with deciding whether this all in fact stemmed from a case of postpartum psychosis. All week, jurors have been tasked with deciding whether this all in fact stemmed from a case of postpartum psychosis. beginning to be taken seriously. And once you're seen as a bunny, you're finished. And she does eventually get to do that. And she helps found New York Magazine. She begins to move into political journalism. And as she does, she also begins to cover the women's movement. The point is to be able to choose, to have the power to make a choice, right? And the reason that social justice movements win is because they support choice, not one point of view. And so in addition to her speak out in 1969, you see in her own professional career, her beginning to write more and more about women's issues and about the movement itself and becoming more connected to it as a result. Now, you're a college professor now. And so you were telling me how you're teaching 18 and 19 and 20-year-olds about the women's rights movements, both of the past and of the present. I'm kind of curious how feminism has evolved from her era and where her legacy kind of lands. One of the things my students wanted to talk about is, how do you think she felt seeing some of that work undone in the last few years at the end of her life? And, you know, I've read a few things about that. I've seen a few interviews that she's given about that. And she said that it made no difference, that the fight is still the fight and that everything women have had and everything women have earned, they've had to continuously fight for. One of the good things about being old, I'm old, is that I remember when it was worse. But I do realize how far we have to go. You don't just earn your rights once. You earn them by continuing to fight for them over and over and over again. And, like, the prejudices don't change either then, probably. So you're always fighting over them. You're always fighting over them, but you don't get to keep your rights. Like, the job isn't done once you get a right. Now the job is making sure you get to continue to have that right. And I think Gloria Steinem was infinitely aware of that. I mean, you know, sometimes reporters, reporters say to me, what are you most proud of? And I always say, I haven't done it yet. She didn't think about her life in terms of, well, we got this far and now there's efforts to push us back in time. She understood that we got this far, but the fight was never over and she never expected it to be over. Yeah, and I did not realize this, but she basically created the whole concept of bring your daughter to work day. Like, that was a Gloria Steinem project. Just one more example of her kind of defining what this movement could look like. Really helpful stuff. Debra Michaels from Merrimack. College and author, by the way, of She's the Boss, The Rise of Women's Entrepreneurship Since World War II. Thanks for being with us. Thank you for having me. Okay, one more quick break. When we come back, talk about running a reverse. This one could reshape college sports as we know them. One last thing is next. Hank joined BJ's Wholesale Club the day he became a father of 30. I coach football. Now Coach Hank saves up to 25% off grocery store prices. 30 pounds of. Pasta, three cases of protein bars, 75 sports drinks. And that's just pregame. He knows teamwork, and BJ's knows savings. This is your home, Coach. Home of the Save. Open soon. BJ's, home of the Save. Teens share everything. That may include the bacteria that can cause meningococcal disease known as meningitis. Even if your teen's been vaccinated in the past, they could still be missing meningitis vaccinations. Ask your teen's doctor or visit meningitis.com today. Sponsored by GSK. And one last thing. College football gets underway in earnest this weekend. The NFL season kicks off just next week. Although at this point, it might be a legitimate question to ask, what's the difference between college and the pros anyway? Yesterday, the Southeastern Conference, the SEC, the most powerful college football conference in the land, sued one of its own schools, Louisiana State University. See, LSU wants to try something radical. They are recruiting current NFL players to play college football. Yes, you heard me right. Now, in the old days, that would have been ludicrous, right? College players have to be amateurs. The moment you turn pro, you give up your amateur status. But those days have changed. And recently, the NCAA passed a new rule effectively allowing student athletes to play for five seasons instead of four. Take some more classes, start grad school, and make some tackles. The thing is, hundreds of players had already finished. Their fourth season last year and did what you'd normally do. They tried to go out and play pro ball. If they weren't good enough to get drafted, they would show up to tryouts. They'd try to get on practice squads. What other opportunities do you have? This rule change meant, theoretically, some of them could be eligible again, which has led to this summer, dozens of guys on NFL rosters quitting, saying, actually, I'm going back to play college football. The question I had was, why would you do that, though? Even NFL practice squad players make, $13,000 a week, that's not bad. Why would you go back to amateur sports? Well, think about what's happened in college football over just the last few years. This is no longer a world where they're scrimping for scholarship dollars. College football players are making tens or even hundreds of thousands in so-called name, image, and likeness deals, often paid for by the schools themselves. Plus, there's a chance if you go back, you might get more playing time, you get drafted next year. At the end of the day, you know, because of these rulings, they're either going to play, um, for you, or they're going to play somewhere else around the country. Coaches like Lane Kiffin at LSU have been actively recruiting players from the Cleveland Browns and the New Orleans Saints on the notion that college football this year can make them rich. You know, the guys that are in discussions that are in court cases and getting eligibility, um, are players that maybe went to a minicamp or got cut in a training camp on a 90-man roster. You know, they didn't make final rosters. And yet, this is where the legal battle comes in. College conferences, like the SEC, like the Big Ten, are determined not to allow athletes to hop back and forth like this. We don't want to see professionals using college as an alternative. We want to see kids have an opportunity to play in college. The SEC issued a rule last week saying they would punish schools who tried this. A state judge in Louisiana issued a restraining order on that, though, and said the SEC cannot do anything to stop this, not yet at least. Yesterday, the SEC upped the ante by filing suit in federal court. Part of this case is about how much control football leagues have. Part of it is about legal language and contracts. But at its heart, this is a story about work. When are you working? When are you just playing? And can you ever do what we've all thought about and just go back to school? I have an idea. I feel like they should let them do this, but with conditions, like if you're going to go back to college to get rich playing football, you should have to do the whole college thing. You should have to live in the dorms. You should get paired with like a random math major. Or something. You have to be part of the school. Maybe you got to join a club. Then we will figure out who really wants to go back to college football. Start Here is produced by Jen Newman, Anthony Ali, Aaron Ferrer, Emily Schutz, and Bika Aronson. Ariel Chester is our social media producer. Josh Cohen is director of podcast programming. I'm our managing editor. Thanks to John Newman, Tara Gimbel, Eamonn McNip, and Katie Dendos. Special thanks this week to Trevor Hastings, Brian Hartman, and Devin Dwyer. I'm Brad Milkey. I'll see you next week. We'll be right back. 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