Tennessee smuggling charges against Kilmar Abrego Garcia dismissed

(The Center Square) – A federal judge dismissed Tennessee charges against a man who, at one time, was at the center of the immigration debate.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia was charged with human smuggling in connection with a Tennessee traffic stop. Garcia was driving an SUV with eight passengers. One of the police officers believed that he was smuggling them, remarking that he was “hauling these people for money,” according to a video obtained by The Center Square through an open records request.

U.S. District Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw called the charges “vindictive” because Abrego Garcia challenged his deportation to El Salvador.

“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,” Crenshaw wrote in his order. “The Executive Branch closed its investigation on the November 2022 traffic stop. Only after Abrego succeeded in vindicating his rights did the Executive Branch...