Marimar Martinez Sues Federal Government Over Border Patrol Shooting
Marimar Martinez filed a lawsuit against the federal government alleging a Border Patrol agent shot her from behind during a 2025 immigration crackdown in Chicago.
Chicago teacher Marimar Martinez filed a lawsuit against the United States federal government on October 5, 2026, alleging she was shot five times by a Customs and Border Protection agent. The incident occurred on October 4, 2025, in Chicago's Brighton Park neighborhood during Operation Midway Blitz, an immigration enforcement surge. Martinez, a U.S. citizen, suffered seven gunshot wounds during the encounter.
Initially, the Department of Homeland Security labeled Martinez a domestic terrorist, and federal prosecutors charged her with assaulting an officer, claiming she used her vehicle to box in the agent's SUV. These charges were dismissed with prejudice in November 2025. An Illinois Accountability Commission later determined that agent Charles Exum had no justification for the shooting.
Martinez's legal team argues that bullet trajectory analysis proves Exum fired from the rear of her vehicle while she was turning away, contradicting his statements to the FBI. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court of Northern Illinois, includes charges of negligence, battery, assault, false arrest, false imprisonment, and malicious prosecution. Evidence cited in the suit includes body camera footage suggesting an intent to get aggressive and texts in which Exum allegedly bragged about the shooting.
Customs and Border Protection has placed Exum on administrative leave. He remains under investigation by the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, and the Chicago Police Department. The lawsuit follows similar shootings by federal agents during immigration crackdowns in Texas, Maine, and Minnesota.
