Dr. Carol M. Swain, the author and retired university professor, on Sunday suggested U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes should be replaced after her decision to release defendants in two high-profile cases.
“We need a replacement for Middle Tennessee Judge Barbara Holmes,” wrote Swain in a post to the social media platform X, where she shared reporting from The Tennessee Star about Holmes’ role in the release of the alleged human smuggler, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, from federal custody.
Holmes first drew headlines earlier this year after she was assigned the federal human smuggling case against Abrego Garcia, who was deported to El Salvador in March by the Trump administration, but returned in June, after U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi unsealed the indictment alleging he participated in a smuggling ring for nearly a decade.
We need a replacement for Middle Tennessee Judge Barbara Holmes.
“I’m gonna kill Marsha Blackburn. I’m gonna shoot her with a gun. I’m gonna blow up her head on national TV,” Convertino allegedly threatened. “She will literally have brains splattered behind her because she… https://t.co/kWuhdc47qC
— Carol M. Swain, PhD (@carolmswain) September 7, 2025
The charges against Abrego Garcia were filed following reporting from The Tennessee Star about the November 2022 traffic stop by Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) of Abrego Garcia, which included the confirmation by a spokesman for THP that troopers released Abrego Garcia at the instruction of the “Biden-era FBI.”
After the magistrate first suggested she would grant Abrego Garcia pretrial release in a hearing held shortly after he was returned to Tennessee, she delayed her decision after his criminal defense attorneys raised the possibility he could be deported if released from U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) custody.
Holmes later granted Abrego Garcia’s request to remain incarcerated for an additional 30 days before ultimately granting his pretrial release last month. This allowed Abrego Garcia to return to Maryland, where he was again taken into federal custody, this time by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The article from The Star, which Swain shared in her post to X, noted that Holmes’ release of Abrego Garcia came just weeks ahead of her decision last month to release Penelope Convertino, the 22-year-old transgender person who was arrested for allegedly threatening to kill U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) on August 28.
Holmes granted Convertino pretrial release, with conditions stipulating that she must wear an ankle monitor and be detained in her home, with exceptions for work, church, or school.
Swain’s remarks about Holmes come after she helped prompt the resignation of former Harvard University President Claudine Gay, who left her position at the prestigious university last year, after Swain confirmed allegations that Gay plagiarized her work in an academic paper.
Holmes was first appointed to her position on the magistrate court in 2015, and was reappointed to an 8-year term in 2023 after the court received public input. Magistrate judges can be removed by a conference of judges in the district for incompetence, misconduct, neglect of duty, physical or mental disability, or if the position is no longer necessary for the court.
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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].
