“We live in a strange time right now. We cannot trust our federal government,” attorney Chris Parente said.NBC Ch 5 ChicagoBy Charlie WojciechowskiFebruary 11, 2026An attorney representing a Chicago woman who was shot by a federal agent in the fall said the government is not telling the truth about her case and directed the public to look at newly released evidence to see for themselves.“We live in a strange time right now. We cannot trust our federal government,” attorney Chris Parente said.Parente represents Marimar Martinez, a Chicago Montessori teacher who was shot several times by Border Patrol Agent Charles Exum on October 4 last year.
However, evidence show it different!
In an attempt to clear Martinez's name, her attorneys filed a multi-million civil lawsuit on her behalf on Wednesday.“To have your own government call you something as hurtful as a domestic terrorist when you know you are not, is simply unacceptable,” Parente said.Late Tuesday night, the US Attorney’s office released a trove of evidence related to the shooting, including body camera video from those officers inside their vehicle.On the video, one of the officers and be heard saying, “it’s time to get aggressive and get the [expletive] out of here.”Thirty seconds later, another officer calls in that “we’ve been struck” then shots can be heard.
By Jason MeisnerChicago TribuneFebruary 11, 2026Lawyers for Marimar Martínez, the Chicago woman shot by a Border Patrol agent in October, said Wednesday newly released evidence in the case demonstrates how Trump administration officials “have created a culture of violence among their agents” where the shootings of U.S. citizens are “embraced, celebrated and promoted.”Investigative materials made public Tuesday showed that after shooting Martínez five times on Oct. 4, Border Patrol Agent Charles Exum joked about it in a text chat with colleagues, was called a “legend” by one of his fellow agents, and even received praise directly from his boss, Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino, as Martínez lay badly wounded in a hospital.“As Marimar was fighting for her life, Greg Bovino was promoting the agent without any investigation being done into the shooting,” Martínez’s lead attorney, Christopher Parente, said in a statement Wednesday ahead of a news conference at a downtown law office.
One of the things about lawsuits is the "Right of Discovery"
After the shooting, Parente said, government officials immediately attacked Martínez, saying she had a history of doxing federal agents and had posted threats on social media, including one specifically that said in Spanish: “Hey to all my gang let’s (expletive) these mother(expletive) up, don’t let them take anyone.”But investigative reports released by Parente on Wednesday showed that threat had been posted by someone else unrelated to Martínez.
The DHS agents lied for the start! ABC Chicago 7 reports that Ms. Martinez is filing a civil lawsuit,
While all criminal charges have been dismissed against Martinez, the I-Team is learning more about an open criminal investigation into the shooting, and the agent who fired those five shots.[...]Contradicting EvidenceIt was Oct. 4 near 39th Street and Kedzie Avenue on the Southwest Side when footage from a Border Patrol agent's body-camera starts recording, after Martinez had followed the agents for several blocks, honking her horn.While the footage has been referenced in court, the public is now able to see it for the first time.U.S. Border Patrol Agent Charles Exum Jr. can be seen driving an SUV, along with three other agents as passengers; all of the agents' faces were blurred by the government.
I would like to point out that honking a horn is not a crime. Honking your horn is not a death sentence!
Surveillance footage reviewed by the I-Team shows Martinez was on the driver's side of the agents' vehicle when Agent Exum can be seen swerving the SUV's steering wheel in her direction. He then stops the car, steps out and fires five shots.
But...
"I got out (of the vehicle) so we could defend," Exum says. Then, multiple agents can be heard warning him to stay quiet."Hey, hey, since we're recording, keep it... Keep everything out, you're good man," one agent tells him."You don't give statements to anybody," another agent can be heard telling Exum. "Absolutely no statements at all, no statements, you keep your mouth shut."
You think that they just realized that "screwed the pooch"
"You can see the bullet went back to front, which is not only inconsistent with (Agent Exum's) statement to the FBI that all five shots went through the windshield," Parente said, "but it's also extremely troubling that he's shooting at a fleeing vehicle, which is a violation of the Border Patrol's published use of force policy."
Wait a minute... the agent said she was driving towards him?????
With the public getting its first look at evidence in the case on Wednesday, one thing that's still locked in federal custody is Martinez's car she was driving the day of the shooting.That's because more than four months later, the federal government still possesses her vehicle due to an "ongoing and pending criminal investigation" into the shooting by the U.S. Attorney's Office in South Bend, Indiana, according to court testimony and filings reviewed by the I-Team, as well as Martinez's attorneys.
On cross-examination at the November hearing, Parente disputed Exum's version of events, citing FBI reports stating it was not a supervisor, but Exum who initiated the request for the vehicle repair.
Why? Maybe because the damage doesn't match what the agents said?
Mother Jones writes,
Newly released body camera footage further undermines the Trump administration’s efforts to falsely portray Marimar Martinez—who was shot multiple times by Border Patrol agent Charles Exum in October—as a “domestic terrorist.” Federal prosecutors shared three videos on Tuesday evening after a federal judge ruled last week that the footage and other evidence could be made public.Martinez’s shooting caused nationwide outrage, particularly after it was revealed that Exum had bragged about shooting Martinez. “Read it,” he wrote in one message after being sent an article about the incident. “5 shots, 7 holes.” He continued: “I fired 5 rounds and she had 7 holes. Put that in your book boys.”[...]The videos released on Tuesday shed further light on why prosecutors dropped charges against Martinez rather than try to bring a case against her to trial.The newly released evidence is also part of a pattern. It is one of many examples of DHS immigration agents lying and providing false information to justify shootings and other uses of excessive force against US citizens and immigrants. These claims have collapsed again and again once DHS is forced to defend them in court.
The current adminstration is okay with lies, as long as it is their lies.
CBS NewsBy Scott MacFarlaneJanuary 13, 2026Nearly one year after the mass pardon of more than 1,500 Trump-supporting Capitol riot defendants, members of a House committee are investigating whether any of the pardoned rioters are now working for President Trump's administration in the fast-growing Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.In a three-page letter sent Monday to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Attorney General Pam Bondi and obtained by CBS News, the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee has requested all "records, documents, memos, and internal communications regarding the solicitation and hiring of anyone charged or investigated for actions in connection to the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol."The committee's Democrats also said it remains unclear how many January 6 defendants "have been invited to join the ranks of this Administration, including among the masked Department of Homeland Security agents and officers."
If you want thugs you hire thugs!
Raskin's inquiry said, "Who is hiding behind these masks? How many of them were among the violent rioters who attacked the Capitol on January 6th and were convicted of their offenses?"
DHS Noem & DOJ Bondi both said that there weren't any!
At least one Capitol riot defendant has secured a high-ranking post in the Justice Department: Jared Wise, who is serving as an agency adviser.
I repeat my question: What does it mean when you cannot trust your government?
Would anyone want these ill-trained thugs roaming through their neighborhoods? The entire system has been compromised, starting with the Supreme Court turning into a NAZI court when ruling that Trump can do anything he wants as long as whatever he does is within this governmental position, whether it is right or wrong. Now, SCOTUS ruled it is perfectly alright to stop any of the 66 million Latinos in America. The GOP stands idly while families are torn apart. The GOP is not the party of "family values." The GOP is no different than those in 1930's Germany who stood aside as Hitler and his brown shirts terrorized the populace. Trump's actions can be represented on hats stating, "Make American White Again!" For me, there is no celebrating the 250th anniversary of America,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Anonymous 100%.
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