Noem conditionally agrees with Blumenthal's account but reserves judgment
Kristi NoemU.S. secretary of homeland security testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee
Noem said the shooting appeared wrong as Blumenthal described it, while withholding a final position until she could review the case.
“Sir, the way that you have portrayed it, it appears to be, but let me look at the case so I can speak to the specifics of it.”
Official statement
Other statements by Kristi Noem in this case
- Kristi Noem says agents fired in self-defenseEarlier: Defended or excused
Where this statement fits
Was Border Patrol Agent Charles Exum justified in shooting Marimar Martinez?
On October 4, 2025, U.S. Border Patrol Agent Charles Exum fired five rounds at Marimar Martinez’s vehicle during a confrontation involving the agents’ SUV and two civilian vehicles in Chicago’s Brighton Park neighborhood. A federal complaint alleged that Martinez and another driver struck and boxed in the agents’ vehicle and that Martinez then drove toward Exum. Martinez said Exum steered into her vehicle and shot her as she drove past or away. She sustained seven gunshot wounds. Federal prosecutors later dismissed the charges against Martinez with prejudice. An Illinois Accountability Commission review concluded that available video, photographs and witness evidence indicated Martinez was stationary or driving away and found reasonable cause to investigate a shooting without apparent justification. No publicly identified recording continuously captures the collision and gunfire, and no court has adjudicated whether Exum’s use of force was lawful. The dispute is whether Martinez posed an imminent threat when Exum fired.
Source and context
Official statement
About this source
Official transcript of a March 3 Senate Judiciary Committee exchange between Richard Blumenthal and Kristi Noem. The page includes their direct statements about Marimar Martinez's shooting and the limits Noem placed on her answer.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Blumenthal asked Noem whether shooting Martinez and then bragging about it was wrong.
After the quotation
Noem said she would review the case and later declined to say whether the agent should remain on duty.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
Noem agreed only that the conduct appeared wrong as Blumenthal described it and reserved judgment pending review, making her position conditional.
- Recorded on
- Published here
- People and groups discussed
- Charles Exum
More from this case
Read the full caseParente says the shooting cannot be justified after presenting a reconstruction
“In what world could you justify that?”Read statement
Martinez says the violence should not become normal
“I want to spread awareness, because what's happening is not normal. We shouldn't stay here and normalize what's happening.”Read statement
Christopher Parente says reconstruction contradicts Exum's account
“He was behind it and shot her through the back”Read statement
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- Noem conditionally agrees with Blumenthal's account but reserves judgment
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The Dispute Index. "Noem conditionally agrees with Blumenthal's account but reserves judgment". First published: 2026-09-24. Last updated: 2026-09-24. https://disputeindex.com/events/2220-noem-said-the-shooting-appeared-wrong-as-blumenthal