A federal judge on Friday granted Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s motion to dismiss his indictment in Tennessee, after Abrego argued that he was only charged by the Trump administration because he successfully challenged his illegal removal to El Salvador.
The Trump administration had resisted remedying that illegal removal for months before it finally brought him back to the U.S. in June 2025, where it had criminal charges waiting for him.
“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,” U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw wrote in his rare grant of such a motion, which the judge said he didn’t do lightly.
Abrego had pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges of illegally transporting undocumented immigrants. The charges stemmed from a 2022 traffic stop, timing that previously led Crenshaw to observe that the yearslong delay from then to Abrego’s 2025 charges is “atypical” in his jurisdiction.
“The Executive Branch closed its investigation on the November
2022 traffic stop,” Crenshaw wrote Friday, adding: “Only after Abrego succeeded in vindicating his rights did the Executive Branch
reopen that investigation.” In his ruling, the judge referred to acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s investigation as “tainted.”
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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