Witness Accounts Of Chicago ICE Shooting Contradict DHS

National Guard personnel are deployed at the ICE facility in Broadview — Source: Anadolu / Getty

Earlier this week, we reported on the citizens of Chicago who are unhappy with the presence of ICE in their neighborhoods, and the terrorism of Chicago residents that has come with it. We included the story of 30-year-old Marimar Martinez, who, along with 21-year-old Anthony Ian Santos Ruiz, was charged with felony assault of a federal officer after being accused of driving separate vehicles in a “convoy” that was following Border Patrol agents, and ramming their vehicles, which, according to the Department of Homeland Security, gave one agent no other choice but to open fire on Martinez, shooting her five times in the arm and legs.

Well — wouldn’t you know it — it turns out that, according to witnesses, court records, 911 dispatch audio, and police bodycam footage, the DHS and its rogue Border Patrol agents are, apparently, lying about virtually everything that happened that day.

According to Fox 32 Chicago, officials, including Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin, have backed claims by Border Patrol officers that agents were surrounded by a “convoy” of “10 cars” and that one driver, presumably Martinez, was armed with a semi-automatic weapon. And that would be really scary if not for the fact that police audio reportedly confirms Martinez’s legal gun stayed in her purse throughout the entire incident. Witnesses also said they never saw her with a gun. Martinez was not charged with anything having to do with the firearm she has a license to carry.

Witnesses also denied that Border Patrol agents were being tailed and “boxed in” by nine other cars besides the dark SUV Martinez was driving. In fact, by all accounts outside of that of DHS and Border Patrol, the only other car involved in the incident at all was the one driven by Ruiz. Reuters reports that, according to Martinez’s lawyer, Christopher Parente, his client was not acting in coordination with anyone else, including Ruiz. Parente said Martinez was on her way to donate clothes when she learned from a community group that immigration agents were nearby, and that’s when she decided to follow the agents while broadcasting the event on Facebook Live to alert the public of what was going on.

“I call her sort of a Paul Revere of today,” Parente said. “She’s trying to tell neighbors, ‘Hey, be careful.'”

Parente also said that while the authorities claim it was Martinez who rammed her vehicle into that of the federal agent, he will present video evidence at trial, showing it was actually the federal agents who struck her vehicle. As we previously reported, Parente previously claimed video footage would show the agent who opened fire on Martinez had shouted, “Do something, b—h” before doing so.

It sure would be convenient if we had bodycam footage from several vantage points that might shed light on who’s telling the truth about what happened during the altercation. Unfortunately, court records show that while all of the Border Patrol agents out on the street that day were equipped with body-worn cameras, only three of them had their cameras activated at the time of the shooting. What is available, according to Fox 32, is photo evidence that shows Martinez’s SUV was hit on the side, Ruiz’s black SUV was damaged in front, and the silver federal vehicle only sustained minor damage after supposedly being rammed.

DHS also initially claimed that the event took place in Broadview, a Chicago suburb where protesters and federal agents had clashed previously. The Oct. 4 incident reportedly actually occurred in Brighton Park, but, at this point, that’s the least concerning discrepancy between what the authorities have said and what was reported by virtually everyone else.

Of course, the Trump administration making claims that are observably untrue will certainly shock everyone, amirite?

The People Of Chicago Are Pushing Back Against ICE

DHS Account Of Chicago ICE Shooting Contradicted By Witnesses, Court Records, And 911 Dispatch. Surprised? was originally published on newsone.com