Marimar Martinez, a 30-year-old woman from Chicago, was shot five times by Border Patrol agent Charles Exum while driving in October 2025. She has since filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration under the Federal Tort Claims Act, alleging that federal officials are liable for negligence and other wrongful acts committed by Agent Exum. Martinez’s legal team claims that Exum falsely reported the circumstances of the shooting, which led to her being wrongfully charged with attempting to ram federal officers; these charges were later dropped. The lawsuit seeks compensatory damages for a range of civil claims including battery, assault, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-05,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Marimar Martinez, a 30-year-old teaching aide from Chicago, filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. government on Monday following an incident where she was shot five times by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agent Charles Exum in October 2025. The shooting occurred during Operation Midway Blitz, part of a mass immigration enforcement surge initiated under the Trump administration. Martinez’s attorneys argue that new evidence shows Exum was not in danger at the time he fired his weapon and should face criminal charges. They allege negligence, battery, assault, and emotional distress by the federal agent and are seeking compensatory damages through the Federal Tort Claims Act. Initially charged with attempting to ram federal officers with her vehicle, Martinez's case saw a dramatic reversal when prosecutors dropped the charges due to lack of evidence supporting Exum’s version of events.
Written for “Woman Shot By CBP Sues” on 2026-10-06,
grounded in this article and the 2 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it -0.65, but all 2 of its quote(s) are attributed speech - words the article quotes from someone, not the article's own narration, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 58712: attributed speech only · logged 2026-10-05
A woman who was shot five times by a Border Patrol agent while driving in Chicago last year has sued the Trump administration over the nonfatal incident.
asserted
who → shoot → incident
Marimar Martinez, 30, filed the lawsuit on Monday, arguing the federal government is liable for the agent’s “negligent acts” under the Federal Tort Claims Act.
uncertain
government → file → Act
The law allows private citizens to sue the United States, as federal agents cannot be sued directly.
asserted
agents → allow → States
Border Patrol agent Charles Exum shot Martinez multiple times on Oct. 4, 2025, while the U.S. citizen was in her vehicle.
asserted
citizen → shoot → vehicle
The lawsuit states Martinez was not driving toward Exum when he opened fire, the opposite of which was “falsely claimed” by the agent.
asserted
opposite → state → agent
A visual reconstruction of the scene shows Exum was standing beside the vehicle at the time, not in front of it.
asserted
Exum → show → it
Following the shooting, Martinez was charged with attempting to ram federal officers with her vehicle.
asserted
Martinez → follow → vehicle
The charges were later dropped by federal prosecutors.
asserted
charges → drop → prosecutors
One year later, Martinez is seeking to hold the Trump administration accountable.
asserted
administration → seek → ?
Her lawyers argue that Exum should face criminal charges for his actions.
asserted
Exum → argue → actions
“The reality is the shoot wasn’t justified,” Chicago-based attorney Michael Gallagher said at a press conference.
asserted
Gallagher → justify → conference
“She almost lost her life as a result.
asserted
She → lose → result
She’s been dealing with the physical and mental injuries ever since then.”
asserted
She → deal → injuries
The federal lawsuit alleges negligence, battery, assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress, malicious prosecution, false arrest, and false imprisonment.
asserted
lawsuit → allege → distress
The plaintiff is seeking compensatory damages that will be determined at trial.
asserted
that → seek → trial
“Right now we’re just focused on moving forward with the civil case and just heal emotionally and physically,” Martinez said.
asserted
Martinez → ’re → case
“I’m just glad to see another year, be with my family.”
asserted
I → ’m → family
Martinez decided to sue the administration after a series of immigration-related shootings left U.S. citizens dead, including Renee Good in Minneapolis.
asserted
series → decide → Minneapolis
“Look at what happened to Renee and all these victims,” she said.
asserted
she → look → Renee
“So I won’t stop.
asserted
I → stop → ?
I have a voice, and I do matter, and I don’t want it to keep happening.
asserted
it → have → voice
I don’t.
asserted
I → do → ?
I just don’t.
asserted
I → do → ?
So I want to spread awareness because what’s happening is not normal.
asserted
happening → want → awareness
We shouldn’t stay here and normalize what’s happening.”
asserted
what → stay → ?
Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia (D-IL), who represents parts of Chicago in Illinois’s 4th Congressional District, voiced his support for the plaintiff’s civil case.
asserted
who → represent → case
“Trump and Miller’s DHS almost killed Marimar Martinez, and then lied about what happened and falsely smeared her as a terrorist,” Garcia posted on X. “Marimar deserves justice.
asserted
Marimar → kill → justice
I will continue to stand with her to demand accountability for all the atrocities committed by Border Patrol and ICE agents in Chicago.”
asserted
I → continue → Chicago
The Aporia
