{"id":463532,"date":"2026-02-12T05:00:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T05:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/463532\/"},"modified":"2026-02-12T05:00:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T05:00:11","slug":"dhs-says-border-patrol-agent-was-placed-on-administrative-leave-after-shooting-chicago-woman-5-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/463532\/","title":{"rendered":"DHS says Border Patrol agent was ‘placed on administrative leave’ after shooting Chicago woman 5 times"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Border Patrol agent who shot Chicago\u2019s Marimar Martinez<\/a> once wrote that his superiors had been supportive of him, \u201cbig time.\u201d<\/p>\n

U.S. Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino praised him after the shooting. The support continued up the chain, he said, from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem up to someone known as \u201cEl Jefe himself\u201d \u2014 who might even be President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n

But Martinez and her attorneys say newly released evidence<\/a> shows Border Patrol agent Charles Exum lied to justify her shooting. And Wednesday, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesperson said Exum \u201cwas placed on administrative leave.\u201d<\/p>\n

The spokesperson, who made the comment in an email to the Chicago Sun-Times, did not respond to a follow-up email asking when the leave began, or if it\u2019s still in effect.<\/p>\n

While incremental, it\u2019s a notable development that comes after a weekslong campaign by Martinez, who was shot five times by Exum on Oct. 4 on the Southwest Side. Martinez decided to speak out last month after immigration officers in Minneapolis fatally shot Renee Macklin Good and Alex Pretti.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Bovino<\/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

Hours after Martinez\u2019s shooting last fall, Bovino told Exum in an email he wanted to extend Exum\u2019s retirement \u201cbeyond age 57.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn light of your excellent service in Chicago,\u201d Bovino wrote, \u201cyou have much yet left to do!!\u201d<\/p>\n

Exum also testified in November that he\u2019d \u201cnever\u201d been suspended by Border Patrol.<\/p>\n

Now the CBP spokesperson says \u201call significant use-of-force incidents are thoroughly investigated, reviewed, and presented to the National Use of Force Review Board.\u201d<\/p>\n

Federal prosecutors in Chicago filed assault charges against Martinez after her encounter with Exum. They dropped the case Nov. 20<\/a>, but Homeland Security officials have refused to rescind previous claims that she is a \u201cdomestic terrorist.\u201d<\/p>\n

Martinez\u2019s attorneys held a press conference Wednesday to explain how recently released evidence showed that Exum and others lied to justify her shooting. They pointed to a diagram drawn by an agent of the shooting scene.<\/p>\n

The drawing depicts three vehicles ahead of Exum\u2019s Chevrolet Tahoe, in addition to Martinez\u2019s Nissan Rogue and a GMC Envoy driven by another man who faced criminal charges.<\/p>\n

Video shows the three cars depicted ahead of Exum\u2019s Tahoe \u201cdon\u2019t exist,\u201d attorney Christopher Parente said.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"FBIMAIN_001-000034.jpg\"<\/p>\n

A diagram drawn by federal agents of the scene of the Oct. 4 shooting of Marimar Martinez in Chicago.<\/p>\n

He also disputed Exum\u2019s claim to the FBI that Exum fired all five shots at Martinez through her front windshield. Parente said three were fired into the passenger side of her Rogue, a fourth \u201ckicks out the rear passenger window,\u201d and a fifth went from the back of her car through the front passenger seat.<\/p>\n

Parente said he\u2019s been told there\u2019s an ongoing investigation into Exum\u2019s conduct by the U.S. Attorney\u2019s office in South Bend, Indiana. But it\u2019s unclear where that investigation stands.<\/p>\n

He and other members of Martinez\u2019s legal team said they plan to pursue a Federal Tort Claim Act complaint against Homeland Security and Exum.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a time where you just cannot trust the words of our federal officials,\u201d Parente said.<\/p>\n

Evidence in Martinez\u2019s case was released Tuesday by Chicago U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros\u2019 office. It released the records even though it had previously objected to the disclosure of certain evidence, including text messages.<\/p>\n

U.S. District Judge Georgia Alexakis on Friday gave Martinez permission<\/a> to release the evidence, anyway. By releasing it Tuesday, prosecutors preempted Martinez\u2019s news conference Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Parente said they released it \u201cat the eleventh hour in a misguided attempt to take the sting out of just how damaging it is for the government.\u201d<\/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<\/p>\n

In body-worn camera footage from the incident, agents riding in the Tahoe are heard saying \u201cit\u2019s time to get aggressive\u201d and \u201cwe\u2019re going to make contact, we\u2019re boxed in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Exum appears to turn his steering wheel to the left, toward Martinez\u2019s car, as his Tahoe collided with the Rogue. Exum told the FBI he \u201cveered his vehicle to the left\u201d after the collision \u201cin an attempt to create space.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, that undermines the initial claim by Homeland Security that Martinez \u201crammed\u201d Exum\u2019s Tahoe with her Rogue.<\/p>\n

After the collision, an agent can be heard saying \u201cwe\u2019ve been struck, we\u2019ve been struck.\u201d Exum also gets out of the vehicle, and five gunshots are heard off-camera.<\/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

<\/p>\n

\"Charles<\/p>\n

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

Exum wrote in a text message that his superiors had been supportive after the shooting.<\/p>\n

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

The agent even shared a text from someone in Vermont. It said, \u201cgood job brother, glad you are unharmed and get to live to tell the story.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou are a legend among agents you better f—in know that. Beers on me when I see you at training.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Border Patrol agent who shot Chicago\u2019s Marimar Martinez once wrote that his superiors had been supportive of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":463533,"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-463532","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\/463532","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=463532"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/463532\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/463533"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=463532"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=463532"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=463532"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}