{"id":462281,"date":"2026-02-11T14:04:13","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T14:04:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/462281\/"},"modified":"2026-02-11T14:04:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T14:04:13","slug":"border-patrol-agents-say-time-to-get-aggressive-in-footage-that-contradicts-claims-against-marimar-martinez","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/462281\/","title":{"rendered":"Border Patrol agents say ‘time to get aggressive’ in footage that contradicts claims against Marimar Martinez"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Border Patrol agent who shot Marimar Martinez<\/a> in October appeared to turn his steering wheel to the left, toward Martinez\u2019s car, in body-camera footage of the incident released Tuesday by federal prosecutors in Chicago.<\/p>\n

The agent did so right after agents inside the Chevrolet Tahoe he was driving said, \u201cit\u2019s time to get aggressive\u201d and \u201cwe\u2019re going to make contact, we\u2019re boxed in.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the Tahoe collided with Martinez\u2019s Nissan Rogue, an agent could be heard saying \u201cwe\u2019ve been struck, we\u2019ve been struck\u201d as Border Patrol agent Charles Exum gets out of the vehicle. Five gunshots are then heard off-camera.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

As the footage continues, another agent climbs out of the vehicle, points his weapon and yells \u201cdon\u2019t you f—ing move\u201d as he appears to secure the area.<\/p>\n

The footage seems to undermine the initial Homeland Security claim that Martinez and another man \u201crammed\u201d the Tahoe driven by Exum that also carried the two additional agents. It also appears to support Martinez\u2019s claim that Exum swerved his Tahoe in her direction.<\/p>\n

Now Martinez is expected to announce a new lawsuit stemming from the shooting at a press conference Wednesday with her attorneys. They say newly released evidence from the case will show that Exum lied to the FBI about firing all five shots into Martinez\u2019s front windshield.<\/p>\n

They\u2019ve said previously that at least one bullet was likely fired from behind.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"__BodyCam2.jpg\"<\/p>\n

A Border Patrol agent\u2019s steering wheel is turned to the left, toward a car driven by Marimar Martinez, moments before their vehicles collided in this screenshot from body-worn camera footage. Martinez was shot by Border Patrol agents Oct. 4 in Chicago. Homeland Security later said she rammed the agents\u2019 car.<\/p>\n

Martinez, 30, was shot five times by Exum and suffered seven wounds. She recently sought permission<\/a> from U.S. District Judge Georgia Alexakis to release evidence from her case after immigration officers fatally shot Renee Macklin Good and Alex Pretti last month in Minneapolis.<\/p>\n

Martinez is a teacher\u2019s assistant at a Montessori school. She recently told the Chicago Sun-Times and WBEZ she intends to speak out because Good and Pretti can\u2019t.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am their voice,\u201d Martinez said. \u201cI am here for a reason.\u201d<\/p>\n

Federal prosecutors had objected to the release of some of the evidence. But they ultimately released the records Tuesday after Alexakis ruled against them Friday<\/a>. A spokesman for U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros\u2019 office declined to comment.<\/p>\n

Christopher Parente, Martinez\u2019s attorney, said he found it \u201cironic that after months of fighting the release of this evidence \u2026 the U.S. attorney\u2019s office releases it at the 11th hour in a misguided attempt to take the sting out of just how damaging it is for the government.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"__Exum1.jpg\"<\/p>\n

Text messages by Border Patrol agent Charles Exum after the Oct. 4 shooting of Marimar Martinez in Chicago.<\/p>\n

In text messages after the shooting, Exum wrote that his superiors had been supportive, making references to U.S. Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino, Border Patrol Chief Michael Banks and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.<\/p>\n

\u201cBig time,\u201d Exum wrote. \u201cEveryone has been including Chief Bovino, Chief Banks, Sec Noem and El Jefe himself \u2026 according to Bovino.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEl Jefe\u201d seems to be a reference to President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n

Exum also shared that someone from Vermont texted him, \u201cgood job brother, glad you are unharmed and get to live to tell the story. You are a legend among agents you better f—in know that. Beers on me when I see you at training.\u201d<\/p>\n

The day of Martinez\u2019s shooting, Bovino wrote to Exum that, \u201cI\u2019d like to extend an offer for you to extend your retirement beyond age 57. \u2026 In light of your excellent service in Chicago, you have much yet left to do!!\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"__Exum2.jpg\"<\/p>\n

An email from U.s. Border Patrol Cmdr. Greg Bovino to Border Patrol agent Charles Exum after the Oct. 4 shooting of Marimar Martinez in Chicago.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, a photo of the inside of Martinez\u2019s car shows that the interior was covered with blood, including a Pure Life water bottle in a center console cup holder.<\/p>\n

Alexakis allowed the release of evidence from Martinez\u2019s case in a ruling Friday. Though prosecutors had said the release of Exum\u2019s text messages could \u201csully\u201d his reputation, the judge noted that the Trump administration had shown \u201czero concern about the sullying of Ms. Martinez\u2019s reputation.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"FBIMAIN_002-000425.jpg\"<\/p>\n

The interior of Marimar Martinez\u2019s car after her shooting on Oct. 4 by Border Patrol agents in Chicago.<\/p>\n

Martinez is taking an increasingly prominent role in resisting the Trump administration\u2019s deportation campaign. She spoke to Democratic members of Congress<\/a> last week in Washington, D.C., where she invoked the names of Silverio Villegas Gonzalez and Keith Porter, who were also killed by immigration officers in recent months.<\/p>\n

Martinez has also called upon Homeland Security to rescind its claim that she is a \u201cdomestic terrorist.\u201d The agency has refused to take it back.<\/p>\n

Martinez followed the Tahoe driven by Exum on Oct. 4. She honked her horn, yelled \u201cla migra\u201d and tried to warn people about the agents.<\/p>\n

She said she pulled her Rogue beside the Tahoe near 39th and Kedzie, where she said Exum swerved toward her Rogue and their vehicles swiped each other.<\/p>\n

Martinez said she stopped her Rogue but feared being \u201cmanhandled\u201d by the agents, so she drove away. She said she drove to her \u201cfarthest left,\u201d to avoid the agents climbing out of their vehicle on her right. But as she passed, she said Exum opened fire.<\/p>\n

She pulled over at a repair shop, was taken to a hospital and eventually into federal custody. Authorities then alleged that Martinez and another man \u201crammed\u201d Exum\u2019s car.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Border Patrol agent who shot Marimar Martinez in October appeared to turn his steering wheel to the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":462282,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[23,3,21,19,22,20,25,24],"class_list":{"0":"post-462281","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-united-states","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-united-states","11":"tag-united-states-of-america","12":"tag-unitedstates","13":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","14":"tag-us","15":"tag-usa"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/462281","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=462281"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/462281\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/462282"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=462281"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=462281"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=462281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}