The city has agreed to pay $16.6 million to settle a lawsuit by Demetrius Johnson, who was 15 when Chicago detective Reynaldo Guevara allegedly framed him for murder by burying a lineup report ID’ing someone else as the gunman, then lying about it at trial www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/09/a...

The U.S. attorney's office has agreed to defer prosecution of Jamie Hernandez, accused of shoving an immigration agent at a protest after the Oct. 4 shooting of Marimar Martinez in Chicago. Hernandez has to do 20 hours of community service and stay out of trouble and the charges will be dropped

An Indiana federal judge has ruled immigration officials are unlawfully detaining a Chicago man acquitted last month of charges he offered money for the killing of Greg Bovino. Juan Espinoza Martinez must have a bond hearing by Wednesday or be released www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/07/j...

“Ms. Martinez is a United States citizen. She’s a resident of this district. And under our legal system, she's presumed innocent of any offense of which she has not been convicted." Federal judge in Chicago allows release of evidence in Border Patrol shooting www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/06/p...

Marimar Martinez and her attorney, Christopher Parente, in the courthouse lobby today

Good morning from the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse, where Marimar Martínez is asking a judge to allow the release of body cam video and text messages from the Border Patrol agent who shot her 5 times in October. The feds have asked that some of it stay sealed www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/05/m...

Prosecutors are now moving to dismiss misdemeanor charges against Erik Meier, one of 32 people to face federal cases stemming from Operation Midway Blitz. Meier was accused of obstructing agents on Oct. 4, the day Marimar Martinez was shot. He had been to go on trial in March

Marimar Martinez, the Chicago woman shot 5 times by a Border Patrol agent, will attend Trump’s Feb. 24 State of the Union Speech, her attorney said in a court filing that also blasted the U.S. attorney's office as "active enablers of an out-of-control client." www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/05/m...

Marimar Martinez, the Chicago woman shot 5 times by a Border Patrol agent in October, is going to attend President Trump's State of the Union address on Feb. 24, her lawyer says. 👀

JUST IN: Lawyers for Marimar Martinez say in a new filing that the sealed text and email messages sent by Border Patrol Agent Charles Exum after he shot Martinez 5 times in Chicago on Oct. 4 "completely undermine" what he claimed happened that day:

A trial date has been set for May 26 in the politically charged "Broadview Six" conspiracy case against a group of Operation Midway Blitz protesters Story: www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/05/t...

JUST IN: A trial date of May 26 has been set in this case It's expected to last about a week

A hearing is getting underway momentarily in the conspriracy case against "Broadview Six" protesters. They're still arguing over a protective order over the discovery, which the defendants want to be able to share publicly Background: www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/28/a...

At a hearing in the Loretto Hospital fraud case this morning, prosecutors say fugitive exec Anosh Ahmed is still in custody in Serbia, and they are "hopeful" he will be extradited to the U.S. to face the charges, but it's still no guarantee. Background: www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/28/f...

“It is an unfathomable exercise to read lawyers and a federal judge discussing at length the ways in which the rule of law is slipping through our nation’s fingers, but it is an absolutely necessary” www.lawdork.com/p/the-minnes...

“The respondents shall not transfer (Juan Espinoza Martinez) outside the jurisdiction of the U.S. or transfer him to any federal judicial district other than those in the States of Illinois, Indiana, or Wisconsin during the pendency of this habeas petition” www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/04/c...

Two weeks after Chicagoan Juan Espinoza Martinez was acquitted on murder-for-hire charges allegedly targeting Greg Bovino, a federal judge in Indiana has barred him from being deported pending a potential bond hearing in his immigration proceedings.

Marimar Martinez, the Chicago woman shot 5 times by a Border Patrol agent, told a Senate forum today she wants her government to set the record straight. “Sorry, you’re not a domestic terrorist, that’s it. That’s all I’m asking for. A simple sorry. That’s it.” www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/03/b...

For those wondering, there were five texts by Agent Exum after the shooting that have been made public in court. But there are others we have not seen. Here's what the feds say about those:

The feds will not block the release of body cam footage showing the Oct. 4 traffic crash in Brighton Park where a Border Patrol agent shot Marimar Martinez 5 times They are opposing release of the agent’s text messages, though, to protect his reputation STORY: www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/03/b...

Ironic that the Feds DO seem worried about attempts to “sully” the reputation of the agent who shot Martinez five times, when they’re still calling her a domestic terrorist

JUST IN: In a filing after midnight, prosecutors say they no longer oppose release of the body camera videos in the shooting of Marimar Martinez by Border Patrol agent Charles Exum. A hearing on this matter is set for Wednesday

JUST IN: A Schaumburg man has been accused of threatening an FBI agent after government vehicles were ransacked in Minneapolis protests over an ICE shooting. “I know where your mom lives bro. And your dad. And your kids buddy. Get home safe and fast." www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/02/s...

Lots of new Midway Blitz files released in the Chicago Headline Club case. Here, Border Patrol agents hit up an Oak Lawn Home Depot, chase down an immigrant looking for work, and arrest a U.S. citizen who dared get too close FBI agent looks at body cam. Prosecutor declines charges Rinse. Repeat.

NEW: DOJ lawyers allege in a filing before the 7th Circuit Judge Sara Ellis improperly dismissed the lawsuit that led to her landmark Operation Midway Blitz injunction "without prejudice," leaving open a door for refiling in the future

The feds revealed today the U.S. was told on Nov. 30 that Anosh Ahmed had been arrested in Serbia pursuant to a “Red Notice.” A Serbian court later denied Ahmed’s petition for release to a hotel in Belgrade and ordered he remain in custody. Story: www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/28/f...

Here is what Border Patrol Agent Charles Exum testified to a few weeks after shooting Marimar Martinez. Q: Your job is to shoot people? A: No, sir. Q: And then what does the 'LMAO' mean? A: Laugh my ass off. Q: Okay. Have you been suspended by the Border Patrol? A: Never.

///BREAKING/// Ex-Loretto Hospital exec Anosh Ahmed, who fled to Dubai before his indictment on massive fraud charges, has been arrested in Serbia, federal prosecutors say. Ahmed allegedly stole more than $15 million from the small, safety net facility in a phony billing scheme.

DHS now says it's "standard procedure" that the Border Patrol agents who shot Alex Pretti were placed on leave. Yet when Agent Charles Exum shot Marimar Martinez in Chicago on Oct. 4, he drove his SUV back to Maine 2 days later and resumed work there www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/28/a...

Lawyer in "Broadview Six" protester conspiracy case: “We want to bring this case to trial sooner because of everything that is happening in this country right now with the DHS. We think what this case would ultimately do is expose one more overreach.” Story: www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/28/a...

A hearing is about to begin in the "Broadview 6" case alleging a conspiracy to impede and damage an ICE vehicle during a protest last fall. Today they're arguing over a protective order on discovery and a defense motion to preserve evidence. Background: www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/12/k...

JUST IN: After less than two hours of deliberation, a federal jury has convicted Jawad Fakroune - who posed as the son of a Colombian drug lord - of extortion in the 2024 beating of a Chicago restaurateur in a River North martini bar. Story: www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/27/j...

No one denies Jawad Fakroune pretended to be the son of a Colombian drug lord, or that he went “bonkers” and threatened to castrate and kill a Chicago restaurateur and his family in a 2024 tirade caught on camera. The question for a federal jury is: why? www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/27/j...

“What happened to Ms. Martinez and the truth about the events of October 4, 2025, as well as what is happening with the killing of two other individuals by DHS agents have become matters of strong public interest and debate" Story here: www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/26/l...

JUST IN: A lawyer for Marimar Martinez, shot by a Border Patrol agent in Chicago last fall, is asking a judge to allow body-cam footage and other evidence from the incident to be made public, citing the recent "execution of two U.S. citizens" in Minnesota, among other things.

“To me this is like we’re starting all over again” For Juan Espinoza Martinez and his family, his acquittal on murder-for-hire charges was bittersweet, ending with him in ICE custody. DHS meanwhile says the jury’s quick rejection “doesn’t change the facts” www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/24/m...

Attorneys Jonathan Bedi and Dena Singer, who represent Juan Espinoza Martinez, say his acquittal Thursday is “an example of the power of the Jury Trial.” “Twelve ordinary citizens stood between an overreaching government and an innocent man. They demanded proof, not politics.”

As Thursday’s verdict was read in court, Juan Espinoza Martinez’s younger brother, Oscar, sat hunched forward and clutching a small silver medal of St. Jude, the patron saint of lost causes — and a comfort for his family. www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/22/t...

Juan Espinoza Martinez smiled slightly as a federal jury in Chicago acquitted him on charges of soliciting the murder of Border Patrol Cmdr. Bovino In the courtroom gallery, his younger brother clutched a little statue of St. Jude and pumped a fist STORY: www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/22/t...

///BREAKING//// A federal jury has found a Chicago construction worker NOT GUILTY of charges he solicited the murder of Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino, delivering a swift repudiation in a case that made national headlines.

JUST IN: There is a verdict in the Bovino murder-for-hire case against Juan Espinoza Martinez. The jury has been deliberating for about 3 hours

JUST IN: Judge Sara Ellis has officially granted the plaintiffs' motion to dismiss the lawsuit that led to her injunction over use-of-force tactics in Operation Midway Blitz An anticlimactic end, for sure Background 👇 www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/08/l...

JUST IN: A federal jury has been sent back to deliberate in the high-profile trial of a Chicago man accused of soliciting the murder of Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino at the height of Operation Midway Blitz last fall.

Prosecutors say Chicago man 'crossed the line' in Bovino bounty texts; defense calls case 'government overreach' UPDATED story here: www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/22/t...

We are back after a quick break. Assistant U.S. Attorney Minje Shin will now deliver the government's rebuttal argument.

Closing arguments are underway, with First Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Yonan delivering the government's first argument

Good morning from the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse, where the fast-moving trial of a Chicago man accused of promoting a $10k bounty for Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino’s murder is expected to go to the jury by lunchtime. Closing arguments begin at 9:15 am: www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/22/t...

Shortly after his arrest, Little Village construction worker Juan Espinoza Martínez was led by federal agents into a windowless interview room, still dressed in a green work T-shirt. They quickly let him know why he was there. “Murder for hire?” he said UPDATE: www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/21/i...

“I don’t want to get killed by that man, I owe money to the government, I owe child support, I am completely up to here… I want it to end" Restaurateur's testimony details financial snarl, business failures in trial of alleged extortionist www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/21/r...

JUST IN: The defense has rested their case in the Juan Espinoza Martinez case without calling the defendant. Closing arguments tomorrow