CBP agent screamed something horrific right before he shot five rounds at Chicago woman, now the court is hiding the video

The attorney for a Chicago woman shot five times by a Customs and Border Protection agent is urgently asking a federal judge to release body camera footage and communications, arguing the government is actively suppressing evidence while waging a “public relations war” against his client. Chris Parente, who represents Marimar Martinez, filed a motion this week demanding the public disclosure of materials related to the shooting that took place during an operation dubbed “Midway Blitz.“

As reported by ABC News, Parente is specifically fighting against a protective order that currently prohibits him from sharing any of the evidence, including crucial body camera footage and photographs. While protective orders are pretty standard in criminal cases to protect the integrity of a trial, Parente argues that this order has become an “albatross around her neck” and is now being weaponized by the government.

The government previously charged Martinez and another man with assault with a deadly weapon, alleging that they followed the agents’ vehicles and initiated a collision with the SUV driven by Supervisory Border Patrol Agent Charles Exum on Chicago’s south side. Prosecutors claimed that Exum fired five defensive rounds after Martinez allegedly drove her vehicle toward him when he exited his SUV following the crash.

The core of Parente’s argument revolves around the discrepancy between the official account and what he claims the video actually shows

However, Parente’s review of the body camera footage paints a completely different, and frankly, terrifying picture. At a hearing last fall, Parente told the court that what he saw and heard did not align with the federal allegations at all. He claims that an agent, who was in the rear of the Border Patrol vehicle, can be clearly heard on the recording screaming something horrific just moments before the collision.

“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,” Parente stated. “And then seconds later, he jumps out and just starts shooting.”

Prosecutors have disputed Parente’s characterization of the video, but that’s exactly why the public needs to see the objective evidence. The federal government officially dropped its case against Martinez in late November, but Parente argues that this hasn’t stopped the misinformation campaign. He notes that official government accounts still have statements online labeling Martinez as a “domestic terrorist.”

Parente believes that allowing the evidence to go public “is necessary to allow Ms. Martinez to ensure that debate is based in fact,” especially since the government is actively “suppressing the objective evidence that she could use to counteract those efforts.”

The protective order has been a major sticking point for months. Media organizations previously sought a modification to obtain the footage, but U.S. District Judge Georgia Alexakis denied that motion. Now, Parente is trying again, saying the ability to disseminate the factual evidence is “of the utmost importance to Ms. Martinez, and frankly to the entire country at this tragic time in our nation’s history.”

He stresses that the public has a right to know how the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) responds to lethal force incidents involving its agents, especially since such incidents “have now unfortunately become a weekly occurrence.” Parente says the video and communications must be released to “combat the continuing harm to her reputation” and to inform the public about the government’s response to the shooting.

This case has certainly become a matter of strong public interest and debate, especially when considering the recent killings of two other individuals by DHS agents.