DOJ vows to appeal after judge dismisses smuggling charges against Kilmar Abrego Garcia as ‘vindictive’

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TheU.S.Department of Justice(DOJ) vowed to appeal a federal judge’s decision Friday to dismiss human smuggling charges against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who initially entered the U.S.illegally and allegedly had suspected ties to MS-13, slamming the ruling as “wrong and dangerous.”

U.S.District Judge Waverly D.Crenshaw Jr.on Friday threw out a two-count indictment inTennesseeagainst Abrego Garcia, ruling the DOJ’s actions amounted to “vindictive and selective prosecution” in violation of the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause.

Abrego Garcia was facing charges after allegedlyconspiring to smuggle roughly 600illegal immigrants into the U.S.annually, between 2016 and 2025, according to a cooperating witness.

FEDERAL PROSECUTOR ADMITS ‘EXTRAORDINARY’ TIMING IN ABREGO GARCIA SMUGGLING CASE CHARGES

Kilmar Abrego Garcia walking with his wife Jennifer Vasquez Sura and attorney Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg outside U.S. District Court in Greenbelt Maryland

Kilmar Abrego Garcia arrives with his wife Jennifer Vasquez Sura and attorney Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg at U.S.District Court in Greenbelt, Md., on Dec.22, 2025, for a hearing.(Alex Wong/Getty Images, File)

“Another activist judge has placed politics abovepublic safety,�“The judge’s order is wrong and dangerous, and we will appeal.”

The federal investigation was initially sparked by a November 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee and included suspected ties to the MS-13 gang andhuman trafficking.

The case became a constitutional standoff after the executive branch deported Abrego Garcia to El Salvador in March 2025 due to an alleged “administrative error.”

MARYLAND IMMIGRANT WRONGLY DEPORTED TO EL SALVADOR MUST RETURN TO US, SUPREME COURT RULES

Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia standing near a Tennessee Highway Patrol vehicle during a traffic stop

Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia is seen during a traffic stop by the Tennessee Highway Patrol.(Tennessee Highway Patrol)

Abrego Garcia sued the government, and thejudicial branch— ultimately backed by the Supreme Court — unanimously ordered his return be “facilitate[d]” to the U.S.

Crenshaw, an Obama appointee, noted that just days after theSupreme Court’sruling, the Department of Homeland Security suddenly reopened a closed investigation into Abrego Garcia’s 2022 traffic stop.

TENNESSEE BODYCAM OF ‘MARYLAND MAN’ TRAFFIC STOP SHOWS TROOPERS’ HANDS TIED DESPITE SMUGGLING CLUES

A drawing of Kilmar Abrego Garcia in court

This courtroom sketch depicts Kilmar Abrego Garcia sitting in court during his detention hearing on Wednesday, June 25, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn.(Diego Fishburn via AP)

Top Justice Department officials, under the leadership of Attorney GeneralPam Bondiand Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, then pushed for an indictment, according to court documents.

In his 32-page memorandum opinion, Crenshaw determined the DOJ’s rapid pivot from closing the case to prosecuting Abrego Garcia was a direct retaliation for his successful civil lawsuit.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen meeting Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia in San Salvador El Salvador

Sen.Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., meets with Kilmar Abrego Garcia at an undisclosed location in San Salvador, El Salvador, on April 17, 2025.(Sen.Van Hollen’s Office/Getty Images, File)

Calling it an “abuse of prosecuting power,” the judge concluded “absent Abrego’s successful lawsuit challenging his removal to El Salvador, the Government would not have brought this prosecution.”

As a result of the finding, Crenshaw formallydismissed the indictment and vacatedAbrego Garcia’s conditions of release.

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Sen.Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., who flew to El Salvador in April 2025 to meet with Abrego Garcia after he was deported to the country’s “Terrorism Confinement Center” (CECOT) megaprison, hailed Friday’s decision.

“Today, a federal judge made clear what we have long known: the Department of Justice was engaged in a vindictive prosecution against Kilmar Abrego Garcia,” Van Hollen said in a statment.“This decision is a strong repudiation of Trump’s lawless DOJ and a win for the Constitutional rights of everyone in our nation.”

She has covered major national crises, including the L.A.wildfires, Potomac and Hudson River aviation disasters, Boulder terror attack, and Texas Hill Country floods.