Wesley Cook ⚡🚲 (@wesley.theatl.social.ap.brid.gy)

DHS Panics Over New Bodycam Footage of Marimar Martinez Shooting The Department of Homeland Security is on the defensive Thursday morning over new bodycam footage that contradicts its version of events in the Border Patrol’s shooting of Marimar Martinez in Chicago last year. Martinez was shot five times in October after she followed a Border Patrol agent’s car in Chicago, honking to alert her neighbors of their presence. DHS initially claimed that when the officers exited their vehicle, Martinez tried to run them over, “forcing the officers to fire defensively.” She was charged with felony assault of a federal officer despite ending up in the hospital herself, while the agents were lauded for their exemplary work by Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino. “The @FBI just arrested two individuals who were allegedly driving these vehicles and attacking our federal law enforcement officers,” FBI Director Kash Patel said at the time. “They have been charged for assaulting federal officers with a deadly or dangerous weapon. Attack our law enforcement, and this FBI will find you and bring you to justice.” Newly released bodycam footage makes it clear that isn’t what happened. “It’s time to get aggressive and get the f**k out, because they’re trying to box us in,” an agent says before turning the wheel sharply toward the left. “We’ve been struck,” an agent says, before getting out of the car and gunshot sounds are heard. Surveillance footage from the road also showed no immediate obstruction or boxing in of the agent’s vehicle. > The government claimed she rammed Border Patrol agents with her vehicle before an agent shot her five times. But new bodycam video shows the agent turned his steering wheel toward Marimar Martinez and that he was congratulated for "excellent service" after shooting her. pic.twitter.com/qhTeAuHcEE > > — Omar Jimenez (@OmarJimenez) February 12, 2026 Texts revealed that Border Patrol agent Charles Exum, who shot Martinez, was called a “legend among agents” and praised for his “good shooting” by his colleagues. Martinez’s felony assault case was eventually dismissed. The DHS took particular offense to CNN’s Omar Jimenez’s reporting of the bodycam footage. “Are we watching the same video? This is CNN parroting a lawsuit complaint for the sake of getting an emotional exclusive interview to rile up their 53 viewers. They should just drop the charade and hire the reporter as co counsel,” the DHS account wrote rather angrily on Thursday. “Once again @CNN demonstrates a complete aversion to the truth. Border Patrol law enforcement officers were ambushed and rammed. The officers can be heard identifying the threat ‘we are boxed in’ attempting to avoid conflict, by driving away, and then clearly identify when this violent rioter hit them with her vehicle. ‘We are hit.’” The DHS account is simply repeating the exact things that this new footage draws into question. It certainly doesn’t look like they’re boxed in, and it certainly does look like their car makes a hard maneuver right before they say they’ve been hit. “I appreciate the response, but the agent himself testified he wouldn’t consider this a ramming and this is also his vehicle in the highlighted circle at the time of the shooting,” Jimenez said. “Do you assess this as ‘boxed in’?” https://newrepublic.com/post/206530/dhs-panics-border-patrol-bodycam-footage-marimar-martinez-shooting