Newly public records raise questions about DHS claims and agent conduct in the Oct. 4 incident.
CHICAGO, IL — Body-worn camera footage and internal messages were released this week in the case of a U.S. citizen shot five times by a Border Patrol agent during an immigration enforcement operation in Chicago, adding new detail to a confrontation that prosecutors later dropped and that the woman says was misrepresented by federal officials.
The material became public after a federal judge lifted key limits on evidence in the case of Marimar Martinez, a Chicago teaching assistant and U.S. citizen who was wounded in a shooting on Oct. 4. Her lawyers say the video and records undercut the Department of Homeland Security’s early claims that Martinez tried to ram agents with her car and that she was part of a violent “domestic terrorist” group. The release comes as DHS faces broader scrutiny over how it describes and investigates uses of force in high-profile immigration operations.
The newly available video shows the moments before the shooting outside a residential area during an enforcement action that drew neighborhood attention. In the footage, an agent can be heard using aggressive language as vehicles come together in the street. Martinez’s attorneys say the encounter began when agents in an unmarked vehicle moved into her path and the cars made contact, contradicting early statements that she initiated an attack. After the collision, the Border Patrol agent, Charles Exum, stepped out and fired five shots at Martinez, striking her multiple times. In one clip, Exum is heard saying, “It’s time to get aggressive,” just before the vehicles make contact.
Federal officials initially portrayed Martinez as the aggressor and announced charges that included allegations she used her vehicle to threaten agents. Those charges were later dropped, and Martinez has said she was trying to warn neighbors about the presence of immigration agents in the area. Her attorneys say the released evidence includes bodycam footage, text messages, emails and other records that they argue show officials embraced a version of events that did not match the video. Martinez has no criminal record, her lawyers said, and she has publicly described the aftermath as a months-long fight to clear her name after being labeled dangerous in government statements that remained online even after the case collapsed.
Among the records made public are messages and emails that Martinez’s lawyers say show internal support for Exum soon after the shooting. They point to communications in which supervisors praised Exum and discussed his employment status. In addition to the bodycam video, the court-authorized release included investigative materials and a large set of images from vehicle tracking cameras that attorneys say help reconstruct the movements of the vehicles before and after the shooting. Martinez’s legal team says those materials, paired with the bodycam footage, show agents were in control of how the incident unfolded and later framed it in public statements in a way that damaged Martinez’s reputation.
The case has become a flashpoint in Chicago because it unfolded during a period of heightened immigration enforcement, including operations that residents and local officials said brought heavily armed agents into neighborhoods far from the U.S.-Mexico border. Critics have questioned why Border Patrol agents were deployed in city operations and how accountability works when federal officers, rather than local police, use force. Martinez has said she carried a licensed firearm in her purse that day but did not use it, and her attorneys have argued that officials seized on that fact as part of a narrative that portrayed her as a threat. They say the released evidence shows a rush to justify the shooting and a lack of care for how public accusations would follow her even after prosecutors dismissed the case.
U.S. District Judge Georgia N. Alexakis ordered the release after Martinez asked the court to modify a protective order that kept much of the evidence out of public view. In court proceedings, Martinez’s lawyers argued that secrecy allowed the government’s early public statements to stand without challenge, while the video that could rebut those claims remained unseen. The judge cited the continuing public harm to Martinez’s reputation in allowing the evidence to be disclosed. Separately, Exum has been placed on administrative leave, and the shooting remains under criminal investigation, according to reports discussed by Martinez’s attorneys as they announced plans for further legal action.
At a news conference in Chicago, Martinez appeared with her attorneys and described the shooting and its aftermath as life-altering. She said she still lives with the physical and emotional effects of being shot, and she said the government’s early statements painted her as a criminal to her neighbors and employer. Attorney Christopher Parente said the release shows “how the story was built” inside DHS and how officials defended it even after the evidence emerged. Martinez has also spoken about the case in public forums, including congressional settings, as federal immigration tactics and the use of force by agents have become a national political issue.
The next steps are expected to move from evidence release to litigation. Martinez’s lawyers say she plans to pursue a claim that can lead to a lawsuit against the federal government, and they also have signaled potential claims against individuals involved in the shooting and its aftermath. They have called for DHS to retract public statements that labeled Martinez and others as violent, and they want investigators to explain discrepancies between early accounts and the video record. For now, Martinez remains alive but injured, Exum remains on leave, and the court-ordered disclosure has put the government’s original narrative under renewed scrutiny.
Author note: Last updated February 11, 2026.