Border Patrol boss Greg Bovino praised officer after he shot woman five times: ‘You have much yet left to do!!’
President Donald Trump’s boots-on-the-ground Border Patrol official congratulated an officer shortly after he shot a Chicago woman five times, according to messages released by federal prosecutors.
“In light of your excellent service in Chicago, you have much yet left to do!!” Bovino wrote in an email to the officer on October 4, just hours after shooting 30-year-old Marimar Martinez.
A federal judge granted the release of the messages and other documents in connection with a now-defunct criminal case against Marimar Martinez, a teacher’s assistant and U.S. citizen, who was accused of assaulting officers with her car during the Trump administration’s surge into Chicago last year.
In text messages after the shooting, Border Patrol officer Charles Exum wrote that his superiors were supporting him “big time” after he fired at Martinez, including Bovino, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and “El Jefe himself,” an apparent reference to the president.
Texts also show that another officer called him a “legend” and offered “beers on me.” Another told him “put that one in your book buddy.”
The Independent has requested comment from Homeland Security.
Body camera footage from the scene also appears to show the officer turning his steering wheel towards Martinez’s car after officers can be heard saying “it’s time to get aggressive” — footage that appears to undermine Homeland Security’s claim that Martinez and another man “rammed” the agents.
District Judge Georgia Alexakis allowed the release of evidence after federal prosecutors argued that publishing Exum’s text messages could “sully” his reputation.
The judge argued the Trump administration showed “zero concern about the sullying of Ms. Martinez’s reputation.”
Martinez pleaded not guilty to charges that she used her vehicle “to assault, impede, and interfere with the work of federal agents in Chicago.”
Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s office in Chicago dropped the charges after lawyers for Martinez raised questions about evidence, but her legal team continues to press the Trump administration for evidence after labeling her a “domestic terrorist.”
Lawyers for Martinez are now suing the administration in a case that attorney Chris Parente says will allow the public to see the “real evidence as opposed to the false claims of our government.”
“We live in a strange time right now, where we cannot trust our government,” he said Wednesday.
In videos from the scene, officers can be heard saying they are “boxed in” before colliding with another vehicle. An officer climbs out of the vehicle, points his weapon and yells “don’t you f****** move.” Exum, who was behind the wheel, then exits the car, and five shots can be heard.
