The New Republic reports a federal agent likely used his cellphone to nab a “trophy” photo of Chicago resident and U.S. citizen Marimar Martinez after Border Patrol agents shot her five times in Chicago.
Martinez, who said the memory haunts her to this day, testified before Congress Tuesday about how she was shot while monitoring agent’s activities from her car in Chicago and warning her neighbors.
The New Republic reports the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) initially claimed that when the officers exited their vehicle, Martinez tried to run them over, "forcing the officers to fire defensively." President Donald Trump’s DOJ charged her with felony assault of a federal officer — despite her being the one ending up in the hospital.
But it was as she was leaving the hospital that agents renewed her horror at the Trump administration. After three hours of treatment, doctors discharged Martinez into the custody of the FBI, who she says treated her like a hunting prize.
“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. One of the agents came up to me with his cell phone and took a photograph of me.” Martinez said. “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?”
Martinez argued before Congress that the agent had no legitimate reason to take her picture after her arrest unless it was for the purpose of collecting a “trophy” for himself.
The New Republic pointed out that Charles Exum, the agent who shot Martinez, bragged in text messages afterward that “I fired 5 rounds and she had 7 holes. Put that in your book, boys.”