Shooting of Marimar Martinez

On October 4, 2025, U.S. Border Patrol Agent Charles Exum shot at the U.S. citizen Marimar Martinez five times while she was in her vehicle in the Brighton Park neighborhood of Chicago. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security initially claimed that Martinez was blocking Border Patrol agents and that she attempted to ram agents with her vehicle before Exum exited the vehicle and shot at her.

Martinez survived the shooting and was charged with assaulting federal officers. Martinez pled not guilty and alleged that it was in fact the Border Patrol agent who collided with her car. Exum's text messages, in which he bragged about the shooting to friends, undermined the government's case. Bodycam footage of the event also contradicted the government's account, according to Martinez's lawyers.

Two months later, the government dropped its charges against Martinez, admitting that she had not attempted to ram a DHS vehicle. The government refused to release bodycam footage of the shooting, arguing that it contains sensitive material. In February 2026, a federal judge ordered the release of the bodycam footage and other evidence in the case. The footage indicated that Exum turned his vehicle toward Martinez immediately before they collided, contradicting the government narrative.