Chicago Woman to File Suit After Border Patrol Shooting (2)

A Chicago woman who survived a shooting by a Border Patrol agent in October is preparing to sue, her attorneys said at a press conference Wednesday.

They plan to send a Federal Tort Claims Act claim to the Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday, the first step toward filing a tort lawsuit on behalf of Marimar Martinez.

Violence by immigration agents is under heightened scrutiny after the January killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minnesota. Martinez herself spoke to members of Congress at a forum on agents’ use of force last week.

Martinez is also preparing for a civil-rights suit, though such matters are notoriously difficult to pursue against federal officers.

“We can go forward, we can hold them accountable,” said Michael Gallagher of Gallagher Law Offices.

Gallagher said they intend to ask for tens of millions of dollars in damages and hope to proceed quickly.

Attorneys representing the family of Renee Good, who was killed by immigration agents in Minnesota last month, also are preparing to initiate civil proceedings.

The US Supreme Court has severely curtailed the ability to file constitutional claims against federal officers, known as Bivens claims.

Despite “Bivens being very narrow, we still have a path forward under that claim, because this is unjustified deadly force,” Gallagher said.

Gallagher said he hopes they ultimately set the kind of precedent that will help make it easier for others to bring similar suits.

As for the FTCA action, Martinez’s attorneys must wait six months for a response to their initial submission to the agency before they can file a lawsuit. “We want to be in trial by October,” Gallagher said.

Evidence Released

The announcement came after attorney Christopher Parente, who represented Martinez in her now-dismissed criminal case, made a point-by-point comparison of the newly released evidence to claims made by the Trump administration.

Officials from high in the administration all the way down to the agents involved in the shooting repeatedly spread falsehoods about Martinez and lied about what happened that day, said Parente of Cheronis & Parente.

Trump administration officials characterized the shooting as justified due to a deliberate, coordinated attack in which Martinez purposely sideswiped the driver’s side of the agents’ SUV.

But the newly released evidence, including body camera footage, disproves that entirely, Parente said.

The shooter, Charles Exum, is under investigation by federal prosecutors in Indiana regarding the shooting, Parente said.

Exum repeatedly lied, including telling the FBI he fired five shots through Martinez’s windshield while the damage to Martinez’s car clearly shows that he shot while she was driving away from him, Parente said.

And Exum told the FBI immediately afterward that he “veered into her to create space,” Parente said.

“That is completely inconsistent with Marimar hitting them,” he said. “The US Attorney’s Office knew this from the beginning. ICE knew this from the beginning, yet they continue, as recently as yesterday, to put out press statements saying that Marimar rammed them, which is just absolutely not true.”

Footage Released

Prosecutors in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois brought a criminal case against Martinez but dropped it less than two months later.

The news conference came on the heels of Tuesday’s release of material related to the shooting, including body camera footage in which an agent said they should “get aggressive” and texts from Exum bragging about the shooting and saying he has the support of top Trump administration officials.

Martinez’s attorneys successfully argued that the material should be released in light of the high-profile killings by immigration officials in Minnesota. They also cited repeated smears from federal officials who stood by their characterization of Martinez as a “domestic terrorist,” even after prosecutors moved to dismiss criminal charges against her.

“We’re going to make contact, and we’re boxed in,” said an agent in an SUV, according to the footage. Moments later, Exum appears to jerk the steering wheel to the left. Exum got out of the SUV and fired multiple rounds at Martinez, who was seriously wounded but survived.

The videos show that “the agents swerved into Marimar’s car” and that the agents were never actually boxed in, Parente said Wednesday.

“Do something, bitch,” an agent is heard muttering on the footage as drivers around the SUV honk their horns and at least one agent appears to point a firearm out the window.

Texts and emails released Tuesday show Exum bragging about the shooting—"I fired 5 rounds and she had 7 holes. Put that in your book boys"—and saying he had the support of top Department of Homeland Security officials.

Border Patrol’s Gregory Bovino, the face of the Chicago deportation campaign, was supportive, Exum said, as were DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and “El Jefe himself...according to Bovino”—an apparent reference to the president.

And just hours after the shooting, Bovino emailed Exum offering to extend his time on the job.

“In light of your excellent service in Chicago, you have much yet left to do!!” Bovino wrote.

In a group text chain called “Posse Chat,” Exum said the damage to the agents’ SUV was minor: “Ding sheet. It’ll buff out. Lmao.”

The case is United States v. Martinez, N.D. Ill., No. 1:25-cr-00636.