Marimar Martinez testified before Congress on Tuesday that after being shot five times by Border Patrol agents in Chicago, a federal agent took a photograph of her with his cell phone at the hospital — without her consent and over her repeated objections:
In her testimony, Martinez revealed a new detail about what happened after she was shot.
“After being at the hospital for less than three hours, I was discharged from the hospital into custody of the FBI. As we left the hospital, I was escorted out through the back in a wheelchair. I observed over dozens of Border Patrol agents waiting outside the hospital,” Martinez said. “One of the agents came up to me with his cell phone and took a photograph of me. It was the same agent who had previously kept coming in and out [of my hospital] room, and I had to repeatedly tell him to leave. I told him I did not consent … but he did not care. It still haunts me that this agent has my photo on his phone. Was this the agent that shot me? Was this a trophy for him?”
The Department of Homeland Security initially claimed officers fired "defensively" when Martinez tried to run them over after she followed their vehicle to warn neighbors. She was charged with felony assault of a federal officer despite being hospitalized from her injuries.
The Border Patrol agent who shot her, Charles Exum, reportedly bragged in text messages afterward about the shooting. During another portion of the hearing, Texas Rep. Robert Garcia read those text messages aloud:
Later in the hearing, Garcia read texts from Exum about the shooting. The messages were displayed on placards behind him:
Ms. Martinez, these are images of texts sent by the agent who shot you. And they’re actually disturbing to read, but I think it’s important for the public to see this. The agent linked an article about your shooting and texted, “Read it. 5 shots, 7 holes. I fired 7 rounds, and she had 7 holes. Put that in your book, boys… Oh, well, it is what it is. Sh*t happens.”
This is someone that works for the United States government.
The hearing, held by Democratic lawmakers, also featured testimony from the brothers of Renee Good (killed by an ICE agent in Minneapolis) and others affected by federal immigration enforcement violence. No Republican members of Congress attended.
The bogus case against Martinez was later dropped. Her lawyer explained to CNN what actually happened during an interview this past November.
Lawrence O'Donnell played a portion of the hearing on his show this Tuesday and shredded ICE and CBP for what they've unleashed on all of us.
