CHICAGO — A Chicago woman shot five times by a Border Patrol agent last year now plans to attend President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address this month, her attorney disclosed Thursday in a court filing.
Marimar Martinez, who survived the October shooting in Brighton Park only to face federal charges that were dropped weeks later, is now asking a federal judge to publicly release body camera footage and text messages sent by the agent who later bragged about shooting her.
Martinez has said that last month’s killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis motivated her to seek the public release of the evidence in her case. She has also been speaking out in nationally televised interviews and through testimony last week before a joint House-Senate committee in Washington, D.C., that was convened to examine use of force by federal agents.
Christopher Parente, an attorney representing Martinez, concluded a Thursday court filing by noting that Martinez is now scheduled to attend Trump’s Feb. 24 address to Congress as a guest of Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia.
“Presumably, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem will be present. Perhaps former Commander of the Border Patrol Gregory Bovino will also be present. There is no doubt that between now and February 24, 2026, DHS will continue to defame Marimar and continue to brand her as a ‘domestic terrorist,’” Parente wrote.
The parties are scheduled to return to federal court 9:30 a.m. Friday in Chicago, where Judge Georgia Alexakis may rule on whether to open up public access to the evidence.
In a court filing this week, Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron Bond asked Alexakis to not make public video from license plate reader cameras, arguing that the evidence is “law enforcement sensitive.” Bond also asked that Alexakis deny motions to release certain text messages between Border Patrol agent Charles Exum, who was identified as shooting Martinez, and his wife, brother and co-workers in Maine.
Bond argued that the release of these messages “will serve only to further sully Agent Exum, his family, and co-workers” without addressing Martinez’s goal of having her voice heard in response to Homeland Security press releases that labeled her a “domestic terrorist.”
Federal agents use non-lethal weapons including tear gas against protesters in Brighton Park Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025, the day Martinez was shot by an agent. Credit: Daniel Delgado
Parente countered on Thursday that Bond’s argument was ironic because “the same government who continues to defame Ms. Martinez and other protestors, many of whom they have killed, is now worried about sullying the reputation of a Border Patrol agent who is under investigation for potential unlawful actions is shocking.”
“Agent Exum sent these messages in the minutes, hours, and days after the shooting. These are his words,” Parente wrote. “To the extent they would ‘sully’ his reputation more than his previously disclosed disgusting text messages already have, it is a fully deserved self-imposed sullying.”
Martinez was motivated to have this evidence released when the government also quickly branded Good and Pretti “domestic terrorists” soon after its agents killed them, according to Parente.
“Marimar knows by viewing these texts and emails why the killings in Minneapolis were almost inevitable, and why they will no doubt continue until the American people stand up and say enough is enough,” he wrote. “These texts messages need to be viewed by the country now more than ever.”
Martinez also wants the public to see the 30 days of camera images of her driving around the city that her attorney mused was collected by prosecutors to support the government’s “domestic terrorist” allegations.
“They presumably wanted to be able to show her driving from the dynamite factory on Cicero to the suicide vest store on Armitage. Instead they presumably noticed her driving to Target for school supplies and Michael’s for crafting materials for her students,” Parente wrote.
Border Patrol agents alleged that Martinez had been chasing them and accused her of ramming her car into a federal agent’s car, which led them to shoot her multiple times. Martinez survived the shooting and was later charged with felony assault.
Martinez and her attorney, however, disputed the federal government’s narrative, and the case quickly fell apart.
Text messages revealed that Exum bragged about the shooting. Body camera footage also showed one of the agents saying, “Do something, b—,” before Martinez was shot, according to her attorney.
As part of the case’s dismissal, a court order restricted public disclosure of discovery materials produced by the federal government during the case, citing privacy concerns.
On Thursday, Parente also accused the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago of turning a blind eye to Homeland Security’s false statements about Martinez. He pointed out that, in response to questions from NPR about whether the agency planned to remove or update its statements regarding Martinez, the department responded by again calling Martinez a “domestic terrorist” who “rammed federal agents” with her vehicle. The statement also noted that Martinez was “armed” with a semi-automatic weapon, but she has said that the firearm was stowed in a case inside her purse.
The department, when reached by the Sun-Times this week, also said it “stands by our press releases and statements. The facts of what happened did not change.”
Of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago, who prosecuted Martinez and are now arguing against releasing the evidence, Parente wrote that they “are no longer passive observers to the false statements made by DHS; they are active enablers of an out-of-control client.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to comment on Thursday.
Reporter Melody Mercado contributed.
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