Federal prosecutors moved Thursday to dismiss charges against a woman who was shot by a Border Patrol agent last month during the federal immigration crackdown in the Chicago area. Hours before a status hearing in the case, prosecutors filed a motion to dismiss the case against Marimar Martinez , 30, and Anthony Ruiz, 21, marking a dramatic reversal in one of the most closely watched cases tied to the crackdown in the country's third-largest city, per the AP.
Prosecutors had accused Martinez and Ruiz of using their vehicles to strike and box in Border Patrol agent Charles Exum's vehicle on Oct. 4 on Chicago's southwest side. Exum then exited his car and opened fire at Martinez, who suffered seven gunshot wounds. Exum allegedly bragged about his shooting skills afterward, according to text messages presented as evidence during a Nov. 5 hearing. Martinez and Ruiz faced charges of assaulting a federal officer with a dangerous weapon—a vehicle. No officers were seriously injured.
Lawyers for Martinez and Ruiz have consistently challenged the evidence and pushed for the case to quickly move to a trial. Also Thursday, federal prosecutors moved to dismiss charges against Dana Briggs, a 70-year-old Army veteran who was arrested last month during a protest outside a federal immigration facility in the suburb of Broadview, just west of Chicago. Although prosecutors claimed Briggs refused to move and struck a Border Patrol agent's arm as the agent pushed back a crowd, other protesters and activists offered a contrasting narrative, saying an agent, unprovoked, pushed Briggs to the ground.
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