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

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

DOJ spokesperson calls ruling 'wrong and dangerous' after judge found prosecution was retaliation for civil lawsuit

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Tennessee authorities release body camera video of traffic stop involving Kilmar Abrego-Garcia

The Tennessee Highway Patrol released body camera video of its 2022 encounter with illegal immigrant Abrego-Garcia, who was deported to El Salvador's Terrorist Confinement Center (CECOT).

The U.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 in Tennessee against 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 allegedly conspiring to smuggle roughly 600 illegal immigrants into the U.S. annually, between 2016 and 2025, according to a cooperating witness.

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)

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"Another activist judge has placed politics above public safety," a DOJ spokesperson told Fox News. "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 and human 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."

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

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Abrego Garcia sued the government, and the judicial 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 the Supreme Court's ruling, the Department of Homeland Security suddenly reopened a closed investigation into Abrego Garcia's 2022 traffic stop.

Protesters hold signs in support of Kilmar Abrego Garcia outside the ICE Field Office in Baltimore, Md., Aug. 25, 2025. (Breanne Deppisch/Fox News Digital)

Top Justice Department officials, under the leadership of Attorney General Pam Bondi and 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, 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 formally dismissed the indictment and vacated Abrego 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."

Alexandra Koch is a Fox News Digital journalist who covers breaking news, with a focus on high-impact events that shape national conversation.

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.

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