A federal judge in Tennessee cleared Kilmar Abrego Garcia of all criminal charges. His case gained attention when the Trump administration wrongly deported him to a notorious prison in El Salvador.
The Justice Department had charged him with human smuggling around this time last year after Abrego Garcia had won his deportation case. That was when the Supreme Court ordered that he be returned to the U.S. after the government deported him despite a court order to keep him in the country over fears of gang violence in his native El Salvador. When he got back, Abrego Garcia was immediately taken into custody.
Those criminal charges stem from a 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee, yet the government didn't file charges against him until nearly 2 1/2 years later, when it became clear the Trump administration had to bring him back to the U.S.
The federal court described the Trump administration's criminal charges as an abuse of prosecuting power.
In granting the motion to dismiss for selective or vindictive prosecution, the court held without Abrego Garcia’s “successful lawsuit challenging his removal to El Salvador, the government would not have brought this prosecution.”
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