Alleged MS-13 member Kilmar Abrego Garcia was released from jail on Friday, according to several reports.
Abrego Garcia’s release comes after spending several months detained in a Tennessee prison, where he was indicted on human smuggling charges upon his return to the U.S. in June.
“Today, Kilmar Abrego Garcia is free,” Abrego Garcia’s lawyer Sean Hecker attorney said, according to Fox 17 News.
“He is presently en route to his family in Maryland, after being unlawfully arrested and deported, and then imprisoned, all because of the government’s vindictive attack on a man who had the courage to fight back against the Administration’s continuing assault on the rule of law,” Hecker continued. “He is grateful that his access to American courts has provided meaningful due process.”
Abrego Garcia’s case gained national attention after he was deported in error to El Salvador, the only country he could be removed to, in March.
Abrego Garcia, who is an illegal migrant, allegedly helped smuggle other migrants from Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Ecuador and elsewhere into the U.S. between 2016 and 2025, according to his indictment. The case centers on a 2022 Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) stop where officers suspected him of human smuggling after discovering nine undocumented passengers without any luggage in his vehicle.
Federal judges in Tennessee approved Abrego Garcia’s pre-trial release last month, but it was put on hold for 30 days. The Trump administration argued against his release based on his “danger to the community and the risk of flight.”
Abrego Garcia’s lawyers hired a private firm with “experience providing court-approved pre-trial transportation and security services in criminal cases” to bring him from Tennessee back to Maryland, according to court filings.
In Maryland, a federal judge blocked Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from taking him into immediate custody in Tennessee, directing the government to provide 72 hour notice if they intend to initiate removal proceedings in Baltimore.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
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