Marimar Martinez, Once labeled a “Domestic Terrorist,” to Attend Trump’s State of the Union
Cleared of all criminal charges and recovering from being shot five times by a Border Patrol agent, Marimar Martinez, 30, will attend President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address later this month as a guest of U.S. Rep. jesus “Chuy” Garcia of Chicago, in what is being viewed as a defiant act against an administration that has refused to retract its labeling of her as a “domestic terrorist.”
The planned attendance, revealed by Martinez’s attorney Christopher Parente in a court filing on Thursday, comes as the legal battle over transparency in the case intensifies. Parente accused both Trump’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Chicago U.S. Attorney’s office of engaging in a “campaign of misinformation” and acting as “active enablers” of what he described as an “out-of-control client” – the Border Patrol agent who shot Martinez.
Parente, a former prosecutor with the Chicago U.S. attorney’s office, invoked the office’s traditional principle of “Do the right thing,” alleging that it was being ignored in Martinez’s case. He is now seeking permission from U.S. District Judge Georgia Alexakis to release evidence from the case, currently shielded by a “protective order.” The request, Parente wrote, was spurred by the government’s continued dissemination of what he claims is false facts.
According to court documents and interviews, the incident began on February 18, 2023, when Martinez, a teacher, was driving her Nissan Rogue in Chicago. She encountered a Chevrolet Tahoe driven by Border Patrol agent Matthew Exum’s Chevrolet tahoe, which carried two other Border Patrol agents. She stated she honked her horn and shouted “la migra” in an attempt to warn others about their presence.
Martinez told the Sun-Times and WBEZ that the situation escalated after approximately 20 minutes, when she pulled her Nissan Rogue alongside Exum’s Tahoe near 39th and Kedzie. she alleges that Exum swerved toward her vehicle, causing a minor collision.Fearing she would be “manhandled” by the agents,martinez drove away,attempting to create distance between herself and the agents. As she passed, she claims exum opened fire. She afterward sought medical attention at a repair shop and was later taken into federal custody, where authorities initially alleged she and another individual “rammed” Exum’s car.
Prosecutors argued that releasing Exum’s text messages would only “sully” his reputation further, a claim Parente dismissed as “shocking.” He countered that any damage to Exum’s reputation would be “a fully deserved self-imposed sullying” given the content of the previously disclosed messages. Parente also criticized law enforcement’s collection of 30 days of surveillance images of Martinez’s car, suggesting it was an attempt to fabricate a connection to extremist activities.”They presumably wanted to be able to show her driving from the dynamite factory on Cicero to the suicide vest store on Armitage,” Parente wrote, “Instead they presumably noticed her driving to Target for school supplies and Michael’s for crafting materials for her students.”
Parente has also been critical of DHS social media posts that he claims spread misinformation about the case. During a recent hearing,Judge Alexakis expressed her frustration with the government’s failure to “change the narrative” after dropping all charges against Martinez in November. A prosecutor admitted during the hearing that they were unsure how to delete a social media post or “tweet.” In response, Parente included instructions for deleting such posts in his court filing, adding, “There are also a plethora of YouTube videos that can be accessed if they run into issues.”
The DHS has also refused to rescind a press release concerning Juan Espinoza Martinez, who was acquitted last month of allegedly offering $10,000 for the murder of U.S. Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino. The press release continues to identify Espinoza Martinez as a “Latin Kings gang member,” despite the prosecution never presenting evidence to support that claim.
When contacted on Thursday, a DHS spokesperson reiterated the department’s stance, stating, “DHS stands by our press releases and statements. the facts of what happened did not change.”
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