CHICAGO – A Border Patrol agent cracking down on immigration in Chicago appeared to brag about shooting a woman he said assaulted him, according to text messages obtained by USA TODAY.

Miramar Martinez is charged with assaulting a federal immigration officer in connection with an car crash dating back to Oct. 4 on Chicago’s South Side. She pleaded not guilty in the case out of the Northern District of Illinois.

Text messages published in the court record on Wednesday, Nov. 5, show that Supervisory Border Patrol agent Charles Exum apparently bragged about the incident.

"I fired 5 rounds and she had 7 holes," the agent writes. "Put that in your book boys."

Exum sent the messages, which were obtained via a court order, in an encrypted chat with other immigration agents, said Martinez's attorney, Christopher Parente.

USA TODAY reached out to the Justice and Homeland Security departments for comment on behalf of Exum. A Homeland Security spokesperson declined to comment directly about the case.

"Given the violence against our agents, CBP will not be giving away information on personnel that could be weaponized against them," the spokesperson said when asked about Exum's status. "This matter is being led by the FBI and the Department of Justice."

Homeland Security officials say agents are facing a rash of violent resistance in Chicago. In response to a request for comment on Border Patrol agents wrestling a Chicago woman from her car after saying she rammed them, agency Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said the incident "is not isolated and reflects a growing and dangerous trend of illegal aliens violently resisting arrest and agitators and criminals ramming cars into our law enforcement officers."

Federal judges in Illinois have questioned Homeland Security's claims of facing "rioters" in the city.

The published court filings in Martinez's case come amid several other federal cases over the conduct of immigration agents in the city as they carry out President Donald Trump’s Operation Midway Blitz.

On Nov. 6, U.S. District Judge Sara L. Ellis issued sweeping restrictions over how agents can use force in the city following complaints, including children getting tear gassed. The day before that, District Judge Robert W. Gettleman issued a temporary restraining order compelling U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement to improve conditions at a facility that he called "disturbing," "disgusting" and "unconstitutional".

And on Nov. 12, District Judge Jeffrey Cummings is expected to hear a case regarding agents reportedly making warrantless arrests.

According to a sworn statement from an FBI agent, Martinez and other Chicago-area residents are accused of following agents in cars as they conducted immigration enforcement activities. The civilians attempted to "box in" agents with their cars, and Martinez "drove into and side-swiped" an agent’s car, the sworn statement says.

At an Oct. 15 hearing during which Martinez pleaded not guilty, Parente said he didn't think his client's case was a complicated one. "It's a car accident where one of the drivers gets out and shoots the other driver," he said.

The case is set to go to trial in February, the court docket shows.

What else do the text messages say?

Exum was messaging people about the shooting in a group text, photos provided in court filings show. The 23-year Border Patrol veteran was in an encrypted chat with other agents, said Parente, who obtained the text messages with a court order.

First, Exum sent a link to an article about the shooting and then texts to say: "Read it. 5 shots, 7 holes."

Messages back to the agent are redacted in court filings. Surprise reaction emojis are seen next to the link to the article.

The agent uses an expletive to say that he is "up for another round," texts the group "lmao" and refers to "my 15 mins of fame."

Lawyers shared the text messages at a hearing on Nov. 5. According to reporting by the Chicago Sun-Times, the agent said he was a firearms instructor and prides himself on his "shooting skills."

Parente, a former federal prosecutor at the U.S. Attorney's Office's in Chicago, said the messages provided insight into the officers tasked with carrying out Trump's crackdown.

"These are the people standing out there with assault rifles in our neighborhoods," he said. "If that were the cops, the city would be up in arms about this."

Chicago judges skeptical of Homeland Security officials

The publishing of the agents’ text messages in the case against Martinez comes as several federal judges at the courthouse in downtown Chicago have expressed skepticism about the government’s claims of violence they are encountering in the city.

U.S. District Judge April M. Perry, who heard a case over whether Trump could deploy the National Guard to Chicago, asked whether Homeland Security officials were "tethered to reality." Government lawyers appealed the case and it is now before the U.S. Supreme Court. It’s unclear when they might rule.

On Nov. 6, Ellis, the judge hearing a case over the use of force by immigration agents in the city, said that agents’ account of events was "simply not true." Federal authorities say they need to use chemical weapons and other means to handle "rioters" in Chicago.

"Describing neighborhood moms as professional agitators shows just how out of touch these agents are and how incredible their views are," Ellis said from the bench. "Overall this calls into question everything the defendants say they’re doing and their characterization of events."

Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino says all of his agents' uses of force have been "more than exemplary."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Border Patrol agent appears to brag about shooting woman in Chicago: Text messages

Reporting by Michael Loria, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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