Federal prosecutors move to dismiss charges against woman shot by Border
Patrol agent in Chicago
[November 21, 2025]
By CHRISTINE FERNANDO
CHICAGO (AP) — Federal prosecutors moved Thursday to dismiss charges
against a woman who was shot several times by a Border Patrol agent last
month during the federal immigration crackdown in the Chicago area.
Prosecutors had accused Marimar Martinez, 30, and Anthony Ruiz, 21, of
using their vehicles to strike and box in Border Patrol agent Charles
Exum’s SUV on Oct. 4 on Chicago’s southwest side. Exum then exited his
car and opened fire on Martinez, who suffered seven gunshot wounds.
Hours before a status hearing, prosecutors filed a motion to dismiss the
charges against the two defendants, marking a dramatic reversal in one
of the most closely watched cases tied to the crackdown in and around
the country’s third-largest city.
In a statement sent to The Associated Press, Martinez’s lawyer,
Christopher Parente, praised the U.S. attorney’s office “for doing the
right thing here and dismissing the indictment."
Joseph Fitzpatrick, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office, said the
office is “constantly evaluating new facts and information relating to
cases and investigations arising out of Operation Midway Blitz.”
Ruiz's attorneys didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.
Since “Operation Midway Blitz ″ began in September, the Department of
Homeland Security has characterized protesters as violent rioters and
vowed to prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law. But of the
more than two dozen people arrested for impeding or assaulting federal
officers or other protest-related offenses, none have gone to trial and
charges have been dropped against at least nine of them. Judges have
expressed skepticism over the strength of some cases.
The case against Martinez and Ruiz wasn't the only one prosecutors
sought to drop Thursday. They also moved to dismiss charges against Dana
Briggs, a 70-year-old Air Force veteran who was arrested during a
protest outside a federal immigration facility in the suburb of
Broadview, just west of Chicago. Although prosecutors claimed Briggs
refused to move and struck a Border Patrol agent’s arm as the agent
pushed back a crowd, other protesters and activists offered a
contrasting narrative, saying an agent, unprovoked, pushed Briggs to the
ground.
Attorneys say evidence contradicted government's narrative
After they were arrested, Martinez and Ruiz were charged with assaulting
a federal officer with a dangerous weapon — a vehicle. No officers were
seriously injured.
In text messages presented as evidence during a Nov. 5 hearing, Exum
bragged about his marksmanship.
“I fired 5 rounds and she had 7 holes,” the text read. “Put that in your
book boys.”
Lawyers for Martinez and Ruiz have consistently challenged the evidence
and had pushed for the case to quickly move to a trial.
Parente claimed body camera footage contradicted federal prosecutors'
narrative of Martinez's actions. He said DHS released “objectively wrong
information,” claiming that Exum had “steered into” Martinez rather than
the other way around. He also accused federal authorities of tampering
with evidence when Exum was allowed to drive the car, which Parente
called “critical evidence,” back to Maine rather than keeping it in
Chicago to be examined.
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Marimar Martinez, center, is greeted by her family after being
released from the Metropolitan Correctional Center on Oct. 6, 2025,
after being shot by immigration agents and charged with assaulting
federal officers in an incident in Chicago's Brighton Park. (E.
Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune via AP)
Martinez and Ruiz were both released pending trial after a judge
noted they had no prior criminal record.
Fate of detainees in limbo
Immigration agents have been accused of unnecessarily using force
during the crackdown, including firing pepper balls and tear gas and
using other aggressive tactics against protesters. The operation has
sparked a public backlash and a bevy of lawsuits.
On Thursday, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals halted a lower
court judge's order to release on bond hundreds of detained
immigrants.
Last week U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Cummings said he would
consider a list of more than 600 detainees after determining that
the federal government violated a 2022 consent decree that outlines
how U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement can make so-called
warrantless arrests.
Without offering details, the federal government objected to dozens
as apparent security risks while others had already been deported.
That left roughly 400 people to be released as soon as Friday.
Detainees, who are being held at jails nationwide, would have been
released on alternative forms of detention such as ankle monitoring
after each paying a $1,500 bond.
But the Chicago-based appeals court halted Cummings' order, saying
it will hear arguments in the case on Dec. 2.
Attorneys for the detainees, including at the National Immigrant
Justice Center, said they were disappointed by the appeals court's
decision but would prepare for arguments.
“We believe we still have the opportunity to free our neighbors and
reunite families who have been deeply traumatized by the Trump
administration’s unlawful actions in our communities,” attorneys
said in a statement.
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin called the decision a
“showing of commonsense.”
“Lawbreakers are off American streets, and we look forward to the
Trump administration’s ultimate vindication on this issue," she said
in a statement.
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Associated Press reporter Sophia Tareen contributed to this report.
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