Judge OKs Release of Video, Other Evidence After Chicago Woman Shot Five Times by Border Patrol

A federal judge has agreed to release video, photos and other evidence sought by Marimar Martinez, the Chicago woman who was shot five times by a Border Patrol agent in Brighton Park last fall.

Martinez, who survived the shooting, had sought the release of additional evidence from the incident to combat continued claims from the Department of Homeland Security that she is a “domestic terrorist” who ambushed agents, despite federal prosecutors voluntarily dismissing their case against her.

U.S. District Judge Georgia Alexakis on Friday agreed to amend a protective order that had prevented the release of certain evidence in that case.

Federal prosecutors did not oppose the release of most evidence covered under that order, but they did seek to withhold certain text messages sent by Border Patrol Agent Charles Exum, the man who shot Martinez, after the incident saying that release could further “sully” his reputation.

“Here’s what I struggle with,” Alexakis said Friday. “I don’t understand why the United States government … has expressed zero concern about the sullying of Ms. Martinez’s reputation.”

The evidence is expected to include body-camera footage from agents on scene, surveillance photos of Martinez’s vehicle in the days and weeks leading up to the shooting as well as other records.

But Martinez’s defense attorney Christopher Parente said the videos will not show the shooting itself, as Exum’s body-worn camera was not activated at the time.

The evidence was not immediately released Friday as the prosecutors and the defense must first issue some redactions before the materials can be made public.

Prosecutors initially alleged Martinez and another man, Anthony Ian Santos Ruiz, were among a civilian group that was tracking a Border Patrol vehicle on Oct. 4 when she used her car to ram into the agents’ vehicle.

While Martinez was charged with assault, prosecutors later voluntarily dismissed that case and Parente has reiterated that his client never rammed  or sought to injure anyone.

Following the shooting, texts from Exum revealed he apparently bragged about the shooting to others, stating in one message that he’d “fired 5 rounds and she had 7 holes. Put that in your book boys.”

Following the dismissal, Parente called the incident a “bad shoot” and said the agents involved had lied about what happened. Still, publicly available statements from the Department of Homeland Security label Martinez as a domestic terrorist, despite the government voluntarily dropping its case against her.

“That was his decision,” Parente said about the notion Exum’s reputation could be “sullied” by the release of his text messages. “He took his phone and used his fingers to write hateful, disgusting language about a woman that he shot while wearing the uniform of Border Patrol. After shooting a woman who did nothing, he’s gonna text his friends and joke about it? … That’s not what this country stands for.”

While Martinez had hoped the dismissal of her charges would allow her to return to her normal life, Parente said the shooting has become a matter of “strong public interest and debate.” By releasing the evidence from the case, he said Martinez can ensure “that debate is based in fact.”

Martinez recounted the shooting this week as she testified before Congress in Washington D.C. She said she was on her way to drop off a donation of clothes to her local church when she saw a Border Patrol vehicle and began to tail it in an attempt to warn others around her of their presence in the area.

After following the vehicle for more than 15 minutes, Martinez said the driver swerved into her vehicle before they pulled over near 39th Street and Kedzie.

“It seemed like time stopped,” she testified.

Martinez said she tried to swerve away from the agents and drove past them, but as she did so, she began feeling a “burning sensation” in her arms and legs. Thinking she’d been struck with pepper balls, Martinez continued driving away before hearing her back passenger window shatter.

“I looked down and I noticed blood gushing out of my arms and legs,” she said. “I saw my life flash before me and slowly began to think this was the end for me.”

Martinez drove to a nearby repair shop and was taken from there into a hospital.

In her testimony, Martinez reiterated that she is not a domestic terrorist, and demanded “transparency and accountability” after her “own government tried to execute me.”

In a new filing Thursday, Parente revealed that Martinez will be heading back to Washington later this month to attend President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address as a guest of Illinois Congressman Jesus “Chuy” Garcia.

While noting that DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino may also be present, Parente said he has “no doubt” that between now and the Feb. 24 speech, “DHS will continue to defame Martinez and continue to brand her a ‘domestic terrorist.’”

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