CHICAGO — Lawyers for Marimar Martinez, the Chicago woman shot five times by a Border Patrol agent during Operation Midway Blitz, said Friday they will file a federal lawsuit next week that includes new ballistics analysis and video animation showing the agent was not in harm’s way when he opened fire.

The lawsuit is expected to be filed in U.S. District Court on Monday, almost exactly a year to the day after agent Charles Exum opened fire on Martinez during a traffic altercation in the Brighton Park neighborhood, according to her attorneys, who plan to hold a news conference to show the video to the media.

“The presentation will illustrate the sequence of shots and the relative positions of Exum and Marimar’s vehicle, demonstrating how the physical evidence contradicts the government’s account of events,” Martinez’s attorneys said in a news release Friday.

The long-awaited lawsuit is landing some eight months after Martinez filed a federal tort claim against the Department of Justice alleging excessive force by Exum as well as a pattern of misstatements by his superiors intended to smear Martínez’s character and cover up the truth.

As part of that effort, Martinez’s attorneys released evidence in the case that they said demonstrated how Trump administration officials “have created a culture of violence among their agents” where the shootings of U.S. citizens are “embraced, celebrated and promoted.”

Among the investigatory materials were text messages showing Exum joked about the shooting with colleagues, was called a “legend” by one of his fellow agents, and even received praise directly from his boss, Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino, as Martínez lay badly wounded in a hospital.

Almost immediately after the shooting, Homeland Security officials released statements branding Martínez, a Montessori school teacher with no criminal record, as an armed “domestic terrorist” who was part of a convoy attempting to box in agents that day.

DHS confirmed earlier this year that Exum had been placed on administrative leave while an internal investigation was conducted. His current status was not immediately known. A spokesperson for the agency could not immediately be reached for comment Friday.

“CBP is committed to the highest standards of conduct, transparency, and accountability,” DHS said in a statement in February. “All significant use-of-force incidents are thoroughly investigated, reviewed, and presented to the National Use of Force Review Board, an independent body comprised of senior CBP officials and representatives from DHS and DOJ, including the DOJ Civil Rights Division.”

Among the trove of evidence in Martínez’s case was body-camera footage from one of the agents in the car with Exum that day showing the tense moments just before their unmarked Chevrolet Tahoe, which was outfitted with an Uber sign, collided with her SUV.

“It’s time to get aggressive and get the (expletive) out,” one agent said as horns blared. Seconds later, Exum, who was driving with his Glock pistol in his right hand, appeared to jerk the steering wheel to the left, in the direction of Martínez’s vehicle alongside them.

“Be advised we have been struck!” one of the agents in the vehicle yells to a dispatcher. Exum then gets out of the vehicle and moves off-camera and five rapid-succession gunshots are heard. Martínez was struck by gunfire in the legs, arm and chest, but managed to drive off before calling 911.

A few hours after the shooting, Bovino sent an email directly to Exum and others in Border Patrol commending him for his work, the evidence released Tuesday showed. “I would like to extend an offer to you to extend your retirement beyond age 57…. In light of your excellent service in Chicago, you have much left to do!!” it read.

Exum, meanwhile, exchanged a series of texts with his wife as well as a group of fellow agents under the name “Posse Chat.” In one of them, someone Exum identified as “the guy from Vermont” wrote, “Good job brother, glad you are unharmed and get to live to tell the story.”

“You are a legend among agents you better (expletive) know that. Beers on me when I see you at training,” the agent texted Exum, the records show.

Martínez’s shooting drew national scrutiny and became a defining moment of Midway Blitz, the Trump administration’s controversial immigration enforcement campaign last fall.

After surviving the ordeal, Martinez attended Trump’s State of the Union address in January as a guest of U.S. Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García, a Chicago Democrat. She also testified before congressional committees and in other forums in Washington, calling herself the surviving “voice” for other victims of violence like Renee Good and Alex Pretti, two U.S. citizens who were fatally shot by immigration agents in Minnesota earlier this year.

Good’s family sued the U.S. government and several immigration officials on Thursday, alleging wrongful death, conspiracy and other violations in the 37-year-old woman’s killing.

In August, Martinez was among a handful of people who filed criminal complaints with the Chicago Police Department against federal agents over the tactics used during Midway Blitz.

“If the federal government refuses to act, state and local authorities must do so,” Marimar Martínez said outside CPD’s Area 3 station on the Northwest Side. “Today I am imploring our local and state officials to do their job and protect their citizens from the criminal conduct that ICE and Border Patrol have inflicted upon their victims, our brothers and sisters.”

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