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A federal judge declared Trump administration officials must stop referring to Kilmar Abrego Garcia as a criminal, finding that these accusations could threaten his right to a fair trial.

U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw — appointed to the bench in Tennessee by the Obama administration — ordered federal prosecutors on Monday to warn Department of Justice (DOJ) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) employees against making any “prejudicial” statements about Abrego Garcia, according to court documents. The Salvadoran national, who is fighting human smuggling charges in the state, was previously identified as an MS-13 gang member by local law enforcement and accused of domestic abuse by his wife.

“Government employees have made extrajudicial statements that are troubling, especially where many of them are exaggerated if not simply inaccurate,” Crenshaw stated in separate court documents. “These statements made allegations regarding Abrego’s ‘character or reputation’ and expressed government officials’ views on Abrego’s ‘guilt or innocence.’”

Crenshaw noted as examples DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s characterization of Abrego Garcia as an “MS-13 gang member, human trafficker, Serial domestic abuser, and child predator” as well as Attorney General Pam Bondi’s declaration he played “a significant role in an alien smuggling ring,” according to court documents.

“To assist DOJ and DHS employees going forward Government’s counsel of record shall provide them a copy of this Memorandum Opinion and Order to understand their obligations,” Crenshaw wrote. “Their compliance will ensure that any future statements will not ‘pose a substantial likelihood of materially prejudicing this proceeding.’”

Abrego Garcia became one of the biggest names in President Donald Trump’s Immigration crackdown when he was deported to his home country in March and briefly jailed at the Central American country’s CECOT mega-prison, despite a previous withholding of removal order. Following outcry from Democrats and a lawsuit from his wife, the alleged gangbanger was returned to the U.S. to face human smuggling charges in Tennessee.

Federal prosecutors accuse Abrego Garcia of making more than 100 trips crisscrossing the country smuggling illegal migrants, drugs and guns during his years living unlawfully in the U.S., according to a grand jury indictment. Those charges stem from a 2022 Tennessee highway stop in which police noticed he was driving eight people across the country, all giving Abrego Garcia’s address as their own and none carrying any luggage.

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Details about Abrego Garcia’s life in the U.S. have surfaced since he became the focus of national media attention.

The Salvadoran national was arrested in 2019 by local police in Prince George’s County, Maryland, and accused of being an MS-13 member by a confidential informant. Abrego Garcia’s American wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, accused him of domestic abuse in 2020 and 2021, alleging he punched and scratched her eye, dragged her out of a vehicle and beat her throughout their marriage.

Abrego Garcia in August demanded the Trump administration stop publicly casting him as a criminal, claiming that the “vitriolic statements” made by top administration officials could taint a jury pool.

“If Kilmar Abrego Garcia did not want to be mentioned by the Secretary of Homeland Security, then he should have not entered our country illegally and committed heinous crimes,” a DHS official stated to the Daily Caller News Foundation in August.

“Once again, the media is falling all over themselves to defend this criminal illegal MS-13 gang member who is an alleged human trafficker, domestic abuser, and child predator,” the official went on. “The media’s sympathetic narrative about this criminal illegal alien has completely fallen apart, yet they continue to peddle his sob story. We hear far too much about gang members and criminals’ false sob stories and not enough about their victims.”

The Trump administration indicated they plan to deport Abrego Garcia to Liberia by the end of October, referring to the western African country as a “thriving democracy” that is committed to the humane treatment of refugees. The illegal migrant has claimed fear of persecution in more than 20 different countries.

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