Against the wishes of Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s criminal defense attorneys, U.S. District Court Judge Waverly Crenshaw on Monday granted prosecutors’ request to delay the deadline for their response to Abrego Garcia’s recent claims of vindictive prosecution.
Crenshaw granted prosecutors’ motion in a three-sentence ruling, stating last week’s supplemental filing was adequate cause to move their deadline back from September 2 to September 15. The judge also moved the date for Abrego Garcia’s attorneys to file another response from September 9 to September 15.
Abrego Garcia’s attorneys opposed moving the deadlines, arguing they were unable to reach their client following the Monday detention of Abrego Garcia by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which happened amid the government’s plan to deport him to Uganda, and that the government should be able to respond to the new information.
Charged with human smuggling in a federal indictment unsealed by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi in June, his attorneys recently asked for Crenshaw to toss the charges due to alleged vindictive or selective prosecution, claiming the Trump administration brought the charges to punish Abrego Garcia after he obtained legal rulings ordering the federal government to facilitate his return from El Salvador, where he was deported in March.
The Trump administration had previously argued that the U.S. Department of Justice facilitated Abrego Garcia’s return through the criminal indictment, as President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador agreed to return the foreign citizen to Tennessee after the indictment was unsealed.
His defense attorneys alleged further proof of vindictive prosecution in its Saturday supplemental filing, which notified the court that, after Abrego Garcia was released on Friday, he was served with notice to appear at the ICE Baltimore Field Office on Monday, where federal immigration authorities detained him.
His attorneys also allege that while they were informed that Abrego Garcia was set for deportation to Uganda, the alleged human smuggler did not receive the information until later.
The federal human smuggling indictment stems from the November 2022 traffic stop of Abrego Garcia in Putnam County, Tennessee, which was first reported by The Tennessee Star. A spokesman for the Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) later told The Star that Abrego Garcia was released at the instruction of the “Biden-era FBI,” and a DHS document showed troopers suspected human trafficking.
Abrego Garcia has pleaded not guilty to the human smuggling charges. His trial is scheduled for January 2026.
U.S. District Court Judge Paula Xinis stayed Abrego Garcia’s deportation to Uganda until at least Friday as a result of a new civil lawsuit he filed on Monday.
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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].
