Federal prosecutors dismiss charges against woman shot by Border Patrol agent in Chicago

By CHRISTINE FERNANDO Associated Press CHICAGO AP Federal prosecutors moved Thursday to dismiss charges against a woman who was shot by a Margin Patrol agent last month during the federal immigration crackdown in the Chicago area Related Articles GE Appliances bolsters ties with US suppliers as it moves production from China to Kentucky Territory line Patrol is monitoring US drivers and detaining those with suspicious expedition patterns Starbucks union says more US stores are joining week-old strike US homes sales rose in October as homebuyers seized on declining mortgage rates US filings for jobless benefits remained in historically healthy range during establishment shutdown Hours before a status hearing in the situation prosecutors moved to dismiss the charges against Marimar Martinez and Anthony Ruiz marking a dramatic reversal in one of the largest part closely watched cases tied to the crackdown in the country s third-largest city The Department of Homeland Assurance has characterized people who have protested Operation Midway Blitz as violent rioters and vowed to prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law But of the more than two dozen people arrested for impeding or assaulting federal officers or other protest-related offenses none have gone to trial and charges have been dropped against at least nine of them Judges have expressed skepticism over the strength of several cases Also Thursday federal prosecutors moved to dismiss charges against Dana Briggs a -year-old Army veteran who was arrested last month during a protest outside a federal immigration facility in the suburb of Broadview just west of Chicago Although prosecutors claimed Briggs refused to move and struck a Perimeter Patrol agent s arm as the agent pushed back a crowd other protesters and activists offered a contrasting narrative saying an agent unprovoked pushed Briggs to the ground Martinez s lawyer Christopher Parente praised the U S attorney s office for doing the right thing here and dismissing the indictment in a declaration to The Associated Press The U S attorney s office and attorneys for Ruiz did not directly respond to a request for comment Prosecutors had accused Martinez and Ruiz of using their vehicles to strike and box in Limit Patrol agent Charles Exum s car on Oct on Chicago s southwest side Exum then exited his car and opened fire at Martinez who suffered seven gunshot wounds Exum allegedly bragged about his shooting skills afterward according to text messages presented as evidence during a Nov hearing I fired rounds and she had holes the text read Put that in your book boys Martinez and Ruiz faced charges of assaulting a federal officer with a dangerous weapon a motorcycle No officers were seriously injured Lawyers for Martinez and Ruiz have consistently challenged the evidence and pushed for the affair to speedily move to a trial Parente claimed body camera footage contradicts the federal regime s narrative of her actions He disclosed the Department of Homeland Protection circulated objectively wrong information claiming Exum steered into Martinez rather than the other way around He also accused federal personnel of tampering with evidence when Exum was allowed to drive the car which Parente called critical evidence back to Maine rather than keeping it in Chicago to be examined Martinez and Ruiz were both published pending trial after a judge noted they had no prior criminal record Federal immigration agents in the Chicago area have been accused of unnecessary force including the use of pepper balls tear gas and other tactics against people protesting federal immigration policies and the detention of immigrants The aggressive tactics have prompted resident backlash and lawsuits