A federal criminal complaint unsealed on Monday accused a Chicago man of targeting a high-ranking member of the Border Patrol in a murder-for-hire plot, a charge that comes as the Trump administration floods Illinois with immigration enforcement officers and mobilizes National Guard troops.
The charging document said that Juan Espinoza Martinez, 37, had recently offered $10,000 in a Snapchat message for the killing of the senior Border Patrol official, who was not named in the court filings.
However, the Department of Homeland Security later released a statement that identified the intended victim as Gregory Bovino, who has taken on a highly visible role in immigration enforcement campaigns in Los Angeles and Chicago.
An affidavit signed by a special agent with Homeland Security Investigations said agents learned last week that Mr. Martinez had sent a Snapchat message with a photo of the Border Patrol official and an offer for $2,000 for information on that official or “10k if u take him down.”
“Putting a price on the life of a law enforcement officer is an attack on the rule of law,” said Andrew S. Boutros, the top federal prosecutor in Chicago, in a statement.
That affidavit also said Mr. Martinez sent messages on Saturday directing members of a street gang to an area in Chicago where a federal agent shot a person.
It was not immediately clear whether Mr. Martinez had a lawyer. An official with the federal defender’s office in Chicago did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Department of Homeland Security said Mr. Martinez is from Mexico and in the United States illegally.
Mr. Bovino is outspoken on social media and has embraced public shows of force, making him a star among supporters of President Trump. Others have denounced his work and the operations he has helped direct. Among those efforts is the Chicago-area immigration enforcement campaign called Operation Midway Blitz, which has been met in recent weeks with protests and constitutional critiques from state and local officials.
Mitch Smith is a Chicago-based national correspondent for The Times, covering the Midwest and Great Plains.
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