{"id":173,"date":"2026-05-27T18:41:12","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T18:41:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=173"},"modified":"2026-05-27T18:41:12","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T18:41:12","slug":"judge-dismisses-criminal-charges-against-kilmar-abrego-garcia-as-vindictive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=173","title":{"rendered":"Judge Dismisses Criminal Charges Against Kilmar Abrego Garcia as \u201cVindictive\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"
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On Friday, a federal judge dismissed the criminal case against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, ruling that the Trump administration had shown \u201cpresumptive vindictiveness\u201d and had charged him in retaliation for his lawsuit challenging his wrongful deportation to El Salvador. <\/p>\n

Judge Waverly Crenshaw said in her ruling that the Department of Justice reopened a closed, four-year-old investigation into Abrego Garcia in an \u201cabuse of prosecuting power.\u201d She said that without Abrego Garcia\u2019s \u201csuccessful lawsuit challenging his removal to El Salvador, the government would not have brought this prosecution.\u201d <\/p>\n

Abrego Garcia, a Maryland father who had been living in the U.S. for more than a decade, was deported to El Salvador in March 2025 along with 260 other people during the Trump administration\u2019s early mass deportations. The group was transported to the CECOT prison in an agreement with El Salvador\u2019s right-wing government under Nayib Bukele. According to his lawyers, Abrego Garcia was severely beaten, deprived of sleep, and subjected to psychological torture while held in the notorious prison. <\/p>\n

Human rights investigations have detailed systematic abuses used against the deportees, including physical and psychological torture, daily beatings and abuse meant to humiliate the detainees, and cases of sexual violence. <\/p>\n

During Abrego Garcia\u2019s detention in CECOT, Bukele met with Trump in a friendly White House visit where each president boasted about their prowess in border security and deportations and promised to collaborate further in their crackdowns on migration. Both agreed that they would refuse to return Abrego Garcia to the U.S. <\/p>\n

In April, the Justice Department admitted it made an \u201cadministrative error\u201d in deporting Abrego Garcia, against a 2019 order that barred his deportation to El Salvador specifically, as he had fled the country as a teenager and would likely still face persecution. But months of legal battles followed, with the Trump administration vehemently fighting his return to the U.S. Both Trump and Vice President JD Vance claimed that Abrego Garcia was an \u201cMS-13 gang member,\u201d baselessly asserting \u2013 as they did with dozens if not hundreds of those they deported to CECOT \u2013 that his tattoos proved his gang membership. <\/p>\n

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Finally, in June 2025, Abrego Garcia was returned to the U.S. following a Supreme Court order. But the administration reopened the 2022 criminal investigation against Abrego Garcia, which Crenshaw asserted was in an effort to punish him for challenging his wrongful deportation. <\/p>\n

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released a statement calling Crenshaw\u2019s decision Friday \u201cnaked judicial activism.\u201d The statement asserted that Abrego Garcia\u2019s order of removal still stands and that \u201cthis Salvadorian is not going to remain in our country.\u201d <\/p>\n

The Trump administration has previously attempted to deport Abrego Garcia to Uganda, Eswatini, and Ghana, and, failing to send him to these countries, are now claiming they will remove him to Liberia. But Abrego Garcia has a court order preventing his deportation, at least for the time being. <\/p>\n

Sean Hecker, one of Abrego Garcia\u2019s lawyers, praised the ruling, saying that Abrego Garcia was the \u201cvictim of a politicized, vindictive White House.\u201d <\/p>\n

In a statement on the decision, Abrego Garcia said, \u201cJustice is a big word and an even bigger promise to fulfill; and I am grateful that today, justice has taken a step forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Maine Removes Trans Sports and Bathroom Ban From November Ballot<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Abrego Garcia was the \u201cvictim of a politicized, vindictive White House,\u201d said one of Abrego Garcia\u2019s lawyers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":172,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-173","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nJudge Dismisses Criminal Charges Against Kilmar Abrego Garcia as \u201cVindictive\u201d - Smart Moving Home<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=173\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Judge Dismisses Criminal Charges Against Kilmar Abrego Garcia as \u201cVindictive\u201d - 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