Marimar Martinez, a US citizen, has filed a lawsuit against the federal government, alleging a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agent lied about shooting her from behind during an immigration crackdown in Chicago a year ago. Martinez was shot seven times by agent Charles Exum on 4 October 2025, during an operation named "Midway Blitz" by the Trump administration.
Federal prosecutors initially accused Martinez, then 30, of using her vehicle to strike and box in Exum's sport utility vehicle on Chicago's south-west side. However, prosecutors filed to dismiss the charges in the month following the shooting.
Martinez's lawyers stated on Monday that an expert analysis of bullet trajectories and her injuries determined Exum was not in the path of her car when he opened fire. They claim Exum walked several feet towards her car, contrary to his statements to the FBI, and fired five shots in less than a second, with the last shot coming from the rear side of her vehicle.
Chris Parente, one of Martinez's attorneys, said Exum told the FBI that Martinez was driving directly at him and that he ceased firing once he was no longer in the vehicle's path. Parente highlighted that only three bullet holes were in the right passenger side of Martinez's windshield, and a bullet hole in the back of her car seat indicated the fifth shot was fired from behind her.
The CBP stated in response to the lawsuit that Exum had been placed on administrative leave. The agency added that use-of-force cases are "thoroughly investigated, reviewed, and presented" to an independent board. Exum is not a defendant in the lawsuit, which was filed under the Federal Tort Claims Act and does not permit lawsuits against individual agents.
According to the complaint, body-worn camera footage from another agent in Exum's vehicle before the shooting captured agents saying it was "time to get aggressive" and making other profanity-laced comments encouraging violence. Martinez was arrested by the FBI hours after the shooting, while she was wheelchair-bound and her bullet holes were leaking blood, according to the lawsuit. A judge ordered her release two days later.
Messages released by Martinez's attorneys in February reportedly showed former border patrol chief Greg Bovino praising Exum for his "excellent service in Chicago" after the shooting. Other messages allegedly showed agents in a group chat congratulating Exum and calling him a "legend."
Martinez appeared at a news conference on Monday, stating that the various shootings spurred her to file suit. She referred to Renee Good, a US citizen fatally shot in her vehicle by a federal agent in Minneapolis in January, saying, "If I don't, then who else, you know? Look at what happened to Renee and all these victims."