Obama-Appointed Judge Hands Kilmar Abrego Garcia A Major Victory

A federal judge appointed by former President Barack Obama on Friday dismissed human smuggling charges against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the suspected MS-13 gang member at the center of a deportation battle, according to court records.

U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw sided with Abrego Garcia, granting his motion to dismiss the charges and ruling that the prosecution’s motivation was “vindictive.” Crenshaw said the Trump administration’s case was politically motivated and only came about after Abrego Garcia fought his deportation.

“The Court does not reach its conclusion lightly,” he wrote. “The objective evidence here shows that, absent Abrego’s successful lawsuit challenging his removal to El Salvador, the Government would not have brought this prosecution.”

The Trump administration had previously deported Abrego Garcia to his native country of El Salvador in March, later acknowledging the removal was carried out in an “administrative error.”

Federal authorities brought him back to the United States in June on human smuggling charges tied to a December 2022 Tennessee traffic stop, during which state troopers pulled him over while he was transporting eight others from Texas to Maryland.

Officers said they became suspicious after noticing the group had no luggage in the car despite being on the road for days. Law enforcement said the situation looked like “a human trafficking incident.”

Abrego Garcia was ultimately released at the time with only a warning citation for driving with an expired license.

Judge Crenshaw said federal investigators had effectively closed the case before reopening it only after Abrego Garcia challenged his deportation.

“Only after Abrego succeeded in vindicating his rights did the Executive Branch reopen that investigation,” he wrote.

The suspected gangbanger became the darling of many Democratic lawmakers fighting President Donald Trump’s mass deportation effort.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) traveled to El Salvador, where he met with Abrego Garcia before he was returned to the United States.

Another federal judge ordered Abrego Garcia’s release from an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center in Pennsylvania in December.

Abrego Garcia entered the United States illegally in 2011 and was later identified by the administration as an MS-13 member.

His wife, who has been advocating for his innocence, accused him of beating her in two separate court filings.

The Salvadoran national previously pleaded not guilty to the now-dismissed charges, according to ABC News.