Prosecutors want to drop last charge against Charlotte man who photographed ICE

Julia Coin, The Charlotte Observer on Mar 10, 2026

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Federal prosecutors want to drop the last charge against a U.S. citizen who took pictures of immigration officers in Charlotte. Their filing comes a month after defense attorneys said they planned to call recently demoted Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino to testify in the man’s case.

Miguel Angel Garcia Martinez’s hearings in Charlotte’s federal court gave an up-close look into the U.S. Border Patrol’s November raids. Attorneys played cellphone video of agents planning to “smash” into Martinez and cross-examined an FBI agent who confirmed Martinez told him agents had Modelo beers in their car during the arrest.

Now, a Trump-appointed prosecutor is asking a judge to drop the case — a case the U.S. Department of Homeland Security used to support its claims that their agents were under attack. One of the key agency leaders providing information when the Border Patrol was in Charlotte — Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin — has since left the agency, and her boss, Secretary Kristi Noem, was fired by President Donald Trump.

Martinez, a 24-year-old father of two who grew up near Charlotte, faced more than 20 years in prison on felony charges of assaulting, resisting and impeding on federal immigration agents who were in the city for “Operation Charlotte’s Web.” Prosecutors in November argued that Martinez used his work Sprinter van as a deadly weapon in the alleged assault — allegations initially made by an FBI agent.

U.S. Magistrate Judge David Keesler dismissed the deadly weapon charge in November, ruling that there was not enough evidence to charge Martinez. On Monday, U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson’s Office filed a motion to dismiss the remaining assault charge “in the interest of justice,” according to court documents.

If a judge signs off on the request by prosecutors, Martinez’s charge will be at least the fourth charge against someone that has been dismissed since agents came to the city for a week in November, masked and armed, and arrested people in public parking lots and outside a church.

Feds dismiss last charge against ‘citizen journalism’

Martinez was taking photos of immigration agents along University Boulevard on Nov. 16 when they came up to his van, tugged on his door handle and told him to get out.

It was a voluntary stop, Martinez’s lawyer said, and Martinez chose not to stop. He was doing “citizen journalism,” and officers had no right to stop him or tell him to leave, federal public defender John Parke Davis previously argued in court.

When Martinez drove away, agents followed with lights and sirens. During the two-mile chase down North Tryon Street, both Martinez and agents drove into oncoming traffic, video showed.

Ferguson’s office initially said Martinez’s van struck a car with four Border Patrol agents inside it. Cellphone video taken on a Border Patrol agent’s phone was played in court and obtained by The Charlotte Observer. The video showed that the agent driving an SUV in pursuit of Martinez planned to “smash” into him.

“We continually evaluate cases as they progress,” Ferguson’s spokesperson said. “Sometimes that means we add charges, but where it is just and proper to dismiss a case we won’t hesitate to do so.”

Judges previously dismissed felony assault charges filed against a man who said agents hit his car in Charlotte and didn’t stop driving.

Prosecutors also lowered felony charges against a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools bus driver they said assaulted officers. She and another defendant now face misdemeanor assault charges. Both have pleaded not guilty.

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