Federal prosecutors on Thursday moved to drop charges against a woman who was shot by a Border Patrol agent last month during the federal immigration crackdown in the Chicago area. The decision came just hours before a scheduled status hearing, marking a major shift in one of the most closely watched cases tied to the operation in the nation’s third-largest city, according to the AP.
Marimar Martinez, 30, and Anthony Ruiz, 21, had been accused of using their vehicles on Oct. 4 to strike and pin in the vehicle of Border Patrol agent Charles Exum on Chicago’s southwest side. Exum exited his car and opened fire on Martinez, hitting her seven times. Text messages presented during a Nov. 5 hearing indicated Exum later boasted about his marksmanship. Martinez and Ruiz had been charged with assaulting a federal officer with a dangerous weapon. No officers suffered serious injuries.
Defense attorneys for both Martinez and Ruiz have repeatedly questioned the government’s evidence and pushed for the case to move swiftly toward trial.
Prosecutors on Thursday also sought to dismiss charges against Dana Briggs, a 70-year-old Army veteran arrested during a demonstration outside a federal immigration facility in Broadview, a suburb west of Chicago. Authorities had alleged Briggs ignored orders to move and struck a Border Patrol agent’s arm as the agent attempted to push back a crowd. However, fellow protesters disputed that account, saying the agent shoved Briggs to the ground without provocation.