The text below was supplied by the Scoop Newsroom app. Third-party reporting is attributed in the source panel.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison released a statement in response, saying that Castro "will not escape justice in Minnesota" regardless of the ruling. "I respectfully but strongly disagree with the court's order, which nonetheless acknowledges that Christian Castro is a flight risk, that Minnesota will be harmed if he is allowed to flee to Mexico, and that Governor Abbott's consideration of Minnesota's extradition request is of 'an atypically long duration' — to say the least," Ellison said. "We will continue litigating this case and do everything in our power to ensure Castro is returned to Minnesota to face his criminal charges." Ellison added that Abbot is "playing with constitutional fire" by not signing the rendition warrant to extradite Castro to Minnesota. "The court was right to reject Governor Walz's absurd claim," said Andrew Mahaleris, a spokesperson for Abbott. "The Constitution requires deliberate consideration of extradition requests and tasks Governor Abbott to 'decide, upon such evidence as he may deem satisfactory' whether 'the person demanded is a fugitive.' Today's order rebuffs Minnesota's efforts to conscript federal courts into commandeering the authority of Governor Abbott's office." Last week, Ellison filed a lawsuit against Abbott, saying the governor's apparent refusal to grant Castro's extradition is extremely rare, if not unprecedented.
Breaking news moves fast. Follow @Will466513 on X for breaking news alerts. Follow on X โ