Chicago’s Marimar Martinez told members of Congress Tuesday she wants accountability for federal agents, an apology after she was shot by Border Patrol, and for the Trump administration to acknowledge she is “not a domestic terrorist.”
Martinez also repeated the name of Border Patrol agent Charles Exum, who shot her five times on Oct. 4, so the public could hear it. In her testimony, she called him her “attempted executioner.”
“I am Renee Good,” Martinez said. “I am Alex Pretti. I am Silverio Villegas Gonzalez. I am Keith Porter,” she said, invoking the names of people who have been killed by immigration officers in the last few months. “I know that by being a survivor, it is my duty to be here today to let you elected officials know what is happening on the streets of our country.”
Martinez, 30, once appeared at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse as a criminal defendant. Now cleared of wrongdoing, the U.S. citizen told Democratic Senators and House members in Washington, D.C., how she was first shot by Exum and then accused of domestic terrorism.
Chicago U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros’ office filed an assault charge against Martinez after her run-in with Exum but dropped the case Nov. 20. Homeland Security continued to refer to Martinez on its website as a “domestic terrorist” as recently as Tuesday, though.
A Homeland Security spokesperson told the Chicago Sun-Times this week that it “stands by our press releases and statements. The facts of what happened did not change.”
Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin also released a statement Tuesday complaining about the politicians who held Tuesday’s forum. She said there’s been an increase in violence against federal agents.
But no known defendant has been convicted of such violence in connection with Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago. Several people charged with nonimmigration crimes tied to the campaign have been cleared. They include a man acquitted by a jury after being accused of offering $10,000 for the murder of U.S. Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino.
Martinez, a teacher’s assistant at a Montessori school, fielded questions from U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and others. During the forum, Martinez sat beside Antonio Romanucci, the Chicago lawyer now representing Good’s family. Good’s brothers also spoke.
Martinez is separately seeking permission from a judge to release evidence from her failed prosecution. She’s said it could help hold agents accountable.
Federal prosecutors said Tuesday they would no longer oppose the release of body camera footage and certain additional evidence from Martinez’s case, but they continued to object to the release of text messages sent by Exum.
“The release of these messages after the charges against Ms. Martinez have been dismissed with prejudice will serve only to further sully Agent Exum, his family, and co-workers without any corresponding benefit to Ms. Martinez,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron Bond wrote in an 11-page court filing.
U.S. District Judge Georgia Alexakis, who had been expected to rule Wednesday, put off her decision until Friday. She did so while ordering Martinez’s attorney to respond to Bond’s filing by Thursday.
Martinez on Oct. 4 followed a Chevrolet Tahoe driven by Exum that also carried two additional Border Patrol agents. She honked her horn, yelled “la migra” and tried to warn people about the agents’ presence.
She told the Sun-Times and WBEZ this week that the dynamic changed after at least 20 minutes when she pulled her Nissan Rogue alongside Exum’s Tahoe near 39th and Kedzie. She said he swerved toward her Rogue and their vehicles swiped each other.
Martinez said she stopped her Rogue but feared being “manhandled” by the agents, so she drove away. She said she drove to her “farthest left,” to avoid the agents on her right. But as she passed, she said Exum opened fire.
She pulled over at a repair shop, was taken to a hospital and eventually into federal custody. Authorities alleged that Martinez and another man “rammed” Exum’s car.
Some text messages from Exum have already been made public. They include one in which he apparently bragged about shooting Martinez, writing “I fired 5 rounds and she had 7 holes. Put that in your book boys.”
U.S. Rep. Robert Garcia of California put Exum’s text messages on display during Tuesday’s hearing and read them out loud.
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut told Martinez, “If an agent of the United States government can shoot you, literally shoot you, cause you almost to bleed to death, and feel this kind of callousness and cruelty, there is a need to change the training, the recruiting, the structure — completely overhaul, rebuild from the bottom up.”
Martinez said she hopes Exum and his family “never goes through this pain that me and my family … went through.”
She said the bullet wounds he gave her “will be there this summer when I head to the beach with my dogs and family. They will be there when I get down on the floor with my students and work with them on their motor skills.
“And perhaps even worse, the mental scars will always be there as a reminder of the time my own government attempted to execute me. And when they failed, they chose to vilify me.”
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