Blumenthal says shooting Martinez and boasting about it were wrong
Richard BlumenthalU.S. senator questioning the homeland security secretary at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing
Blumenthal said it was wrong for the agent to shoot Martinez and then brag about the shooting.
“I don't know why you can't join me in saying it was wrong to shoot Marimar, almost cause her death, and then brag about it.”
Official statement
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 described Martinez's account and asked Noem to condemn both the shooting and the agent's reported comments.
After the quotation
After Noem said she did not know the case details, Blumenthal repeated that the shooting and reported boasting were wrong.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
Blumenthal explicitly said the shooting was wrong, so the statement directly condemns the use of force.
- Recorded on
- Published here
- People and groups discussed
- Charles Exum, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
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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- Blumenthal says shooting Martinez and boasting about it were wrong
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The Dispute Index. "Blumenthal says shooting Martinez and boasting about it were wrong". First published: 2026-09-24. Last updated: 2026-09-24. https://disputeindex.com/events/2221-blumenthal-said-it-was-wrong-for-the-agent