On Thursday, a federal judge decided to drop charges against two individuals accused of “ambushing” federal agents during an immigration operation in Chicago last month. This group included a woman who was shot five times during the episode.
U.S. District Judge Georgia Alexakis dismissed the charges concerning Marimar Martinez and Anthony Ruiz following an unexpected request from the Department of Justice to do so.
The dismissal by Judge Alexakis was made with prejudice, ensuring that the case cannot be reopened in the future.
Earlier on Thursday, the government submitted a motion requesting the judge to “dismiss the indictment” against Martinez and Ruiz. The two were involved in a confrontation with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents in Chicago on October 4th.
This incident sparked a series of street protests on Chicago’s Southwest Side.
Christopher Parente, Martinez’s attorney, expressed to ABC News on Thursday that both he and his client are relieved by the government’s decision to drop the charges.
“We appreciate the U.S. attorney being thoughtful in agreeing to dismiss this,” Parente said.
Martinez thanked the judge and “everybody that supported me.”
“I’m just grateful for everything,” Martinez told reporters after the hearing. “I’m just happy. I’m excited.”
Parente told reporters that Martinez didn’t deserve to be shot and that they are “going to work on getting her justice,” but for now are thankful that the prosecutors “did the right thing.”
Martinez, 30, and Ruiz, 21, were accused by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) of being part of a convoy of protesters in vehicles that converged on CPB agents and rammed their vehicle during what the DHS called an “ambush.”
An October DHS statement said CBP agents opened fire on Martinez in self-defense, alleging she was “armed with a semi-automatic weapon” and was driving one of three vehicles that “cornered” and rammed the CBP agents’ vehicle.
Martinez was later found to have a handgun in her purse, for which she had a license and a concealed carry permit, according to Parente. Martinez was never charged with any weapons offense in connection with the vehicular incident.
Martinez and Ruiz were both charged with assault with a deadly weapon in the alleged ramming attack.
DHS officials initially described Martinez, Ruiz and the other protesters involved in the incident as “domestic terrorists.”
During Thursday’s hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronald DeWald consented to dismissing the case with prejudice.
“We are not seeking any technical advantage here,” DeWald said. “We do not intend to refile these charges.”
The decision by the DOJ to dismiss the charges against Martinez and Ruiz came a day after a federal judge in Chicago ordered the government to turn over to the defense additional text messages by the CBP agents involved in the incident.
During a Nov. 5 court hearing, CBP Agent Charles Exum, identified as the agent who shot Martinez, was questioned by Parente about text messages he sent to friends and family after the incident in which he appeared to boast about his shooting skills.
“I fired 5 rounds and she had 7 holes. Put that in your book, boys,” one of those messages said.
When pressed by Parente about the text messages during his testimony, Exum said, “I am a firearms instructor and I take pride in my shooting skills.”
Parente then asked, “So you’re bragging that you shot her five times and gets seven holes, five shots? Are you literally bragging about this?”
Exum responded, “I’m just saying five shots, seven holes.”
Federal prosecutors initially claimed that Exum fired rounds at Martinez in self-defense, saying that Martinez drove toward him when he exited his vehicle after the collision.
During an Oct. 6 hearing, Parente claimed in court that he viewed a body-camera video from one of the agents involved in the incident that he said appeared to show the federal vehicle swerve into Martinez’s car.
“When I watched the video after this agent says, ‘Do something, b—-,’ I see the driver of this vehicle turn the wheel to the left. Which would be consistent with him running into Ms. Martinez’s vehicle, okay,” Parente said. “And then seconds later, he jumps out and just starts shooting.”
Parente also said Martinez is licensed to carry a concealed weapon and that the gun federal officials claimed she had during the confrontation with CBP agents was never removed from her purse.
In response to an ABC News request for comment about the motion to dismiss and Exum’s text messages, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin reiterated the agency’s previous statements, again calling Martinez and Ruiz “domestic terrorists.” McLaughlin did not address Exum’s text messages and referred ABC News to the Justice Department for information about the charges against Martinez and Ruiz.
