Newly obtained evidence suggests the federal government had flagged a Chicago woman as a potential threat before she was shot five times by a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent during the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown last year.
According to an internal report analyzed by Scripps News, Marimar Martinez appeared on a CBP watch list just days before the October shooting. The report flagged activity in a local Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) watch Facebook group. One translated post in the group read, “Hey to all my gang let’s f*** those mother f****** up, don’t let them take anyone.”
Martinez’s attorney, Christopher Parente, told Scripps News that Martinez did not write the message. However, Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin later attributed it to her and used it as a justification for the shooting. McLaughlin accused Martinez of targeting federal officers and labeled her a domestic terrorist.
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“The scarier part of that is the quote from Tricia McLaughlin that was attributed to Marimar,” Parente said. “That kind of started a lot of this and kind of started this labeling of domestic terrorist. They quoted Marimar and one of these groups as calling for action of violence against ICE.”
Parente added that he believes CBP conducted background checks on anyone in the Facebook group and assumed they were on the government’s radar.
While he does not think the report proves Martinez was specifically targeted in the shooting, Parente warned that anyone in such ICE Facebook groups is likely considered a threat by the federal government. He said the government has yet to retract its statements about Martinez and end what he called a false narrative that protesters and observers like her are domestic terrorists.
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Meanwhile, McLaughlin announced Tuesday that she is stepping down as assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security. She has been one of the most vocal figures of the Trump administration’s immigration policy and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem praised her for her work.
"I am enormously grateful to President Trump, Secretary Noem, and the American people for the honor and privilege to serve this great nation," McLaughlin said in a statement to Scripps News. "I am immensely proud of the team we built and the historic accomplishments achieved by this Administration and the Department of Homeland Security."
McLaughlin started planning to leave the agency in December, but according to people briefed on her exit, she pushed back her departure in the aftermath of the shootings in Minnesota of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
