U.S. District Court Judge Waverly Crenshaw on Thursday ordered the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) respond to the Tuesday request by Kilmar Abrego Garcia for the court to toss his federal human smuggling case, arguing he is being vindictively prosecuted by the Trump administration.
While Abrego Garcia’s lead attorney, the New York-based Sean Hecker, asked for Crenshaw (pictured above in 2015) to toss the case in its entirety, or alternatively to call an evidentiary hearing to hear their argument for why the case should be dropped, Crenshaw stopped short, instead ordering prosecutors to submit a response to Abrego Garcia’s 35-page memorandum by September 2, with the defendant’s attorneys given the opportunity to respond by September 9.
Through his filings, Abrego Garcia accused the DOJ of vindictively prosecuting him for alleged crimes discovered when reviewing a Tennessee traffic stop that happened in November 2022, claiming that he was targeted for prosecution after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that he was wrongfully deported, and ordered the Trump administration to facilitate his return.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi claimed that President Nayib Bukele agreed to return Abrego Garcia to the United States after she unsealed the indictment against him in June.
Abrego Garcia additionally claimed that members of the Trump administration have engaged in a campaign to taint the potential jury pool, noting that members described Abrego Garcia as a “gangbanger,” “monster,” and “illegal alien terrorist.”
The stop of Abrego Garcia by Tennessee Highway Patrol in late 2022 was first reported earlier this year by The Tennessee Star, and THP later confirmed to The Star that Abrego Garcia was released at the instruction of the “Biden-era FBI.” A U.S. Department of Homeland Security document later confirmed troopers suspected Abrego Garcia of human trafficking.
Abrego Garcia pleaded not guilty after being returned to Tennessee, and his trial is scheduled for January 2026.
He was released with conditions on Friday, and returned to Maryland, as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ordered by U.S. District Court Judge Paula Xinis to give the alleged human trafficker and his attorneys advanced notice should it intend to pursue additional immigration enforcement actions against him.
ICE must also hold Abrego Garcia in Maryland, should it seek to detain him for future proceedings.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
