Federal Judge Dismisses Human Smuggling Case Against Kilmar Abrego Garcia

A federal judge in Tennessee dismissed the criminal human smuggling case against Kilmar Abrego Garcia on Friday. The judge granted the motion to dismiss for vindictive prosecution, finding that the investigation was tainted.

Abrego Garcia, who had been living in Maryland with his wife and children, was deported in March of last year to El Salvador despite a 2019 court order barring his deportation due to fear of persecution. The Trump administration claimed he was a member of the criminal gang MS-13, which he denies. He was brought back to the U.S. in June to face human smuggling charges in Tennessee.

The case stemmed from a 2022 incident where Abrego Garcia was stopped on a highway in Tennessee with a carload of migrants. Police suspected he was smuggling them, but no charges were brought then. A court order in the Tennessee case revealed that a top DOJ official called Abrego Garcia's prosecution a top priority shortly after he was mistakenly deported.

Friday’s ruling erases the criminal charges he had faced. He had been scheduled to go to trial on the Tennessee charges, to which he pleaded not guilty, in January.