Immigration authorities had surveilled Chicago woman shot 5 times during 'Midway Blitz': CBP Report

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Marimar Martinez, the Chicago woman shot by federal agents last fall, was already on the government's radar before an agent opened fire, identified as a threat after a social media post.

The ABC7 I-Team has obtained a Customs and Border Protection investigation report that "identified social media postings...and people that are believed to be a threat to officers."

ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watch

Martinez, a U.S. citizen, is the target of the report that highlights a reshared post with the comment "they found him lol."

That comment came from an "ICE watch" Facebook page that claims an ICE agent working Operation Midway Blitz was also a Youtuber.

"When the government investigates or threatens criminal prosecution or takes, really, any sort of action against somebody for what's clearly protected speech, that's retaliation for exercising your first amendment rights, and it's unconstitutional," said Colin McDonell, an attorney with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE).

McDonell represents two metro Chicagoans whose own "ICE Sighting" Facebook page and app were shut down, he says due to government coercion after allegations they too were threats to agents.

On Wednesday, they filed a lawsuit against the government.

READ MORE | Criminal investigation ongoing into agent who shot Chicago woman 5 times during 'Midway Blitz'

"What you can't have is the government being able to crack down on any speech they don't like just by saying that, it hypothetically could lead to some harm. That's an invitation for the government controlling whatever it wants about our speech when we criticize or speak about the government," McDonell said.

Their EyesUp webpage featuring ICE interactions is still active through a browser. Among other videos on the site, it has the aftermath of the day Martinez was shot five times by Border Patrol Agent Charles Exum in Brighton Park last October.

Five days before she was shot, the CBP Open Source Intelligence Team tagged Martinez as a threat. Her picture and information was "disseminated to Operation Midway Blitz personnel," utilizing DHS databases to confirm her identity, according to the report.

Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons testified this week before the House Committee on Homeland Security that there is no database of protesters.

When pressed by California Democrat Rep. Lou Correa if the feds are surveilling Americans, Lyons replied, "No sir."

Correa then asked, "Those people protesting, practicing the First Amendment right, photos of them taken, they're not being placed on any kind of a database?"

Lyons said, "There is no database for protesters sir."

But according to the CBP report, Martinez was surveilled and DHS databases were used to confirm her identity and label her a threat.

RELATED | Judge rules to release bodycam video, photos from fed agents in Brighton Park shooting

McDonell added, "When government officials are telling people that because they're protesting, they could be put in a database, they could be made a target for federal investigation or even prosecuted. That creates a real chilling effect on our core first amendment rights."

It's unknown whether agent Exum knew of the threat report before he shot Martinez.

The Department of Homeland Security told the I-Team, "ICE tracking apps put the lives of the men and women of law enforcement in danger."

Apple, Facebook and the Department of Justice have not yet replied to ABC7's request for comment.