Chicago Teacher Aide Marimar Martinez Plans to Attend Trump's State of the Union Despite Being Shot 5 Times by Border Patrol Agent - Here's Why
Marimar Martinez, a 30-year-old teacher's assistant from Chicago, plans to attend President Donald Trump's State of the Union address later this month as a guest of Democratic U.S. Rep. Jesus "Chuy" Garcia. The move comes despite being shot five times by a Border Patrol agent, Christopher Exum, four months ago, and facing criminal charges that were later dropped.
Martinez was involved in a confrontation with Exum on October 4th after he and two other agents were following her car. According to Martinez, the situation escalated when Exum swerved towards her vehicle, causing her to pull over. As she stopped, Exum opened fire, shooting five rounds that left her with seven gunshot wounds.
In a court filing released this week, Martinez's attorney, Christopher Parente, accused Trump's Homeland Security of launching a "campaign of misinformation" about his client and the events surrounding the shooting. Parente also criticized U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros' office for failing to rescind its press releases, which have referred to Martinez as a "domestic terrorist."
Parente pointed out that Exum had bragged about shooting Martinez in a text message, saying he fired five rounds and she had seven holes. He argued that the release of this evidence would show that Martinez was not the aggressor but rather a victim of an out-of-control Border Patrol agent.
The defense attorney also criticized Boutros' office for gathering 30 days of camera footage of Martinez's car in an attempt to discredit her. Instead, Parente pointed out that the footage showed Martinez driving to Target to buy school supplies for her students and materials for crafting projects.
In a bizarre twist, Parente included instructions on how to delete social media posts and YouTube videos that have been critical of Martinez. He joked that these can be accessed if there are issues with their removal.
The case against Martinez was dropped in November, but Homeland Security has yet to rescind its press release, which referred to Juan Espinoza Martinez as a "Latin Kings gang member" despite never proving this at trial.
Martinez's decision to attend the State of the Union address is seen as a defiant act against an administration that has labeled her a domestic terrorist. Her plan to do so as a guest of Rep. Garcia highlights the ongoing tensions between those who oppose Trump's immigration policies and his supporters, including law enforcement agencies like Homeland Security.
The case highlights the need for greater scrutiny of government actions and the importance of allowing evidence to be released in cases where individuals are being targeted by allegations of domestic terrorism.
Marimar Martinez, a 30-year-old teacher's assistant from Chicago, plans to attend President Donald Trump's State of the Union address later this month as a guest of Democratic U.S. Rep. Jesus "Chuy" Garcia. The move comes despite being shot five times by a Border Patrol agent, Christopher Exum, four months ago, and facing criminal charges that were later dropped.
Martinez was involved in a confrontation with Exum on October 4th after he and two other agents were following her car. According to Martinez, the situation escalated when Exum swerved towards her vehicle, causing her to pull over. As she stopped, Exum opened fire, shooting five rounds that left her with seven gunshot wounds.
In a court filing released this week, Martinez's attorney, Christopher Parente, accused Trump's Homeland Security of launching a "campaign of misinformation" about his client and the events surrounding the shooting. Parente also criticized U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros' office for failing to rescind its press releases, which have referred to Martinez as a "domestic terrorist."
Parente pointed out that Exum had bragged about shooting Martinez in a text message, saying he fired five rounds and she had seven holes. He argued that the release of this evidence would show that Martinez was not the aggressor but rather a victim of an out-of-control Border Patrol agent.
The defense attorney also criticized Boutros' office for gathering 30 days of camera footage of Martinez's car in an attempt to discredit her. Instead, Parente pointed out that the footage showed Martinez driving to Target to buy school supplies for her students and materials for crafting projects.
In a bizarre twist, Parente included instructions on how to delete social media posts and YouTube videos that have been critical of Martinez. He joked that these can be accessed if there are issues with their removal.
The case against Martinez was dropped in November, but Homeland Security has yet to rescind its press release, which referred to Juan Espinoza Martinez as a "Latin Kings gang member" despite never proving this at trial.
Martinez's decision to attend the State of the Union address is seen as a defiant act against an administration that has labeled her a domestic terrorist. Her plan to do so as a guest of Rep. Garcia highlights the ongoing tensions between those who oppose Trump's immigration policies and his supporters, including law enforcement agencies like Homeland Security.
The case highlights the need for greater scrutiny of government actions and the importance of allowing evidence to be released in cases where individuals are being targeted by allegations of domestic terrorism.
she just got shot 5 times by a border patrol agent lol, that's like, super suspicious 
exum even bragged about it in a text message, how's she supposed to trust anyone after that? 
and now rep garcia is hosting her as if nothing's wrong... i mean, shouldn't he be worried about being seen with someone who got shot by a cop? 
anyway, i guess it's just another example of the government trying to silence people who speak out against them 
I mean, Homeland Security is literally still out there saying she's a domestic terrorist despite the charges being dropped. That's messed up. And now she's gonna sit in that audience with no security? What if someone decides to take a shot at her from the crowd? 
This whole thing just reeks of politics and not giving a second thought about people's lives...
Can't believe they're forcing Marimar Martinez to attend the State of the Union address like some kind of trophy 
, after everything she's been through. Like, shouldn't her life be more important than some politicians' drama? And what's with Homeland Security still releasing that press release about her being a "Latin Kings gang member"? Never proven at trial and now they're still spewing it out like it's fact? 
. Marimar Martinez was shot 5 times by a Border Patrol agent and yet her case was dropped, but Homeland Security is still spreading misinformation about her 
. But honestly, who cares what Trump says or thinks? 
marimar martinez's story is crazy! she was shot 5 times by a border patrol agent and still plans to attend trump's state of the union? that takes a lot of guts, i gotta respect her for it 
and also for not backing down even after everything she went through. the way her attorney handled the case by releasing that evidence and pointing out the misinformation from homeland security is super clever 
my only concern would be how she's going to feel going through all that again in public, but i guess attending the state of the union is a pretty big deal for her 
And Rep. Garcia inviting her to the State of the Union as a guest... it's like he's saying, "Hey, we know you've been through crap, but we still got your back." 
I'm all for standing up against unjust labels and accusations, but at what cost? Is this just a big PR stunt or is Martinez actually trying to make a statement? 
. Shooting her five times is just insane, and the fact that she's still facing charges despite having her case dropped is a total miscarriage of justice. I think it's really brave of her to attend the State of the Union address despite all this, though - it shows she's not going to let Trump or Homeland Security silence her 
. And can you believe they were trying to discredit her by gathering footage of her just shopping for school supplies? That's just ridiculous 
. It's also a reminder that our justice system needs a lot more work - we need to make sure everyone has access to fair trials and that evidence is released when it should be 
That's just not fair at all. And now she's planning to attend the State of the Union address as a way of saying that isn't going to happen? 
. It's like they're trying to keep this whole thing alive in people's minds without any actual evidence. And what's up with gathering 30 days of camera footage just to discredit her? 
That sounds like a total overreach.
.
marimar martinez's determination to speak out against trump's administration is really inspiring, especially with her case still being shrouded in mystery #StandWithMarimar #JusticeForMarimar