FROM CHARLOTTE OBSERVER: A federal judge on Wednesday partially dismissed charges the federal government brought against Miguel Martinez — a U.S. citizen who was arrested after documenting Border Patrol in Charlotte this month.
Martinez, 24, took photos of agents at several locations on Nov. 16, the second day they roamed the city in paramilitary gear and questioned and stopped people in public places. Border Patrol agents tried to get Martinez to engage in a “voluntary stop,” but he fled after circling agents in a parking lot, according to court documents.
A chase followed, and Martinez, who was previously convicted of resisting an officer, was charged with felony assaulting, resisting, opposing, impeding, intimidating or interfering with federal officers. That federal charge was enhanced when the government claimed he used a “deadly or dangerous weapon” — his car — in the alleged crime. But video played during Martinez’s three-hour preliminary hearing in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina showed footage from inside a car carrying four ICE agents who said they planned to “smash” into Martinez. At one point an agent said “he’s gonna get shot.”
U.S. Magistrate Judge David Keesler issued an order dismissing the enhancement charge of using a deadly weapon to impede officers on Wednesday.
Both Martinez and agents drove on the wrong side of the road and over medians during the chase, video shows.
Keesler did find probable cause “to believe [Martinez] forcibly interfered with the CBP agents.”
BREAKING: David Keesler, a U.S. Magistrate Judge, has DISMISSED the assault charge against Miguel Angel Garcia Martinez, who attempted to RAM federal agents with his van while trying to escape arrest. pic.twitter.com/EM4NmSx7wp
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) November 28, 2025
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