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CHICAGO (WLS) — Marimar Martinez, a Chicago resident, was shot by federal agents last fall after being flagged by the government as a potential threat due to a social media post.
The ABC7 I-Team has acquired a report from Customs and Border Protection, which identifies certain social media posts and individuals perceived as threats to officers.
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In the report, Martinez, who is a U.S. citizen, is cited for resharing a post with the remark, “they found him lol.”
This comment originated from an “ICE watch” Facebook page, which alleged that an ICE agent involved in Operation Midway Blitz was also active on YouTube.
Colin McDonell, an attorney with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), stated, “When the government investigates or threatens criminal prosecution for protected speech, it constitutes retaliation against exercising First Amendment rights, which is unconstitutional.”
McDonell is representing two Chicago-area individuals whose “ICE Sighting” Facebook page and app were reportedly shut down due to government pressure after they were labeled as threats to agents.
On Wednesday, they filed a lawsuit against the government.
READ MORE | Criminal investigation ongoing into agent who shot Chicago woman 5 times during ‘Midway Blitz’
“What you can’t have is the government being able to crack down on any speech they don’t like just by saying that, it hypothetically could lead to some harm. That’s an invitation for the government controlling whatever it wants about our speech when we criticize or speak about the government,” McDonell said.
Their EyesUp webpage featuring ICE interactions is still active through a browser. Among other videos on the site, it has the aftermath of the day Martinez was shot five times by Border Patrol Agent Charles Exum in Brighton Park last October.
Five days before she was shot, the CBP Open Source Intelligence Team tagged Martinez as a threat. Her picture and information was “disseminated to Operation Midway Blitz personnel,” utilizing DHS databases to confirm her identity, according to the report.
Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons testified this week before the House Committee on Homeland Security that there is no database of protesters.
When pressed by California Democrat Rep. Lou Correa if the feds are surveilling Americans, Lyons replied, “No sir.”
Correa then asked, “Those people protesting, practicing the First Amendment right, photos of them taken, they’re not being placed on any kind of a database?”
Lyons said, “There is no database for protesters sir.”
But according to the CBP report, Martinez was surveilled and DHS databases were used to confirm her identity and label her a threat.
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McDonell added, “When government officials are telling people that because they’re protesting, they could be put in a database, they could be made a target for federal investigation or even prosecuted. That creates a real chilling effect on our core first amendment rights.”
It’s unknown whether agent Exum knew of the threat report before he shot Martinez.
The Department of Homeland Security told the I-Team, “ICE tracking apps put the lives of the men and women of law enforcement in danger.”
Apple, Facebook and the Department of Justice have not yet replied to ABC7’s request for comment.
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