Judge dismisses indictment against Kilmar Abrego Garcia

Federal judge bars ICE from re-detaining Kilmar Abrego-Garcia through Christmas

A federal judge says Kilmar Abrego Garcia will remain free at least through Christmas after a judge in Maryland extended her order blocking the federal government from taking him into custody. FOX 5's Katie Barlow has the latest.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - A federal judge dismissed human smuggling charges against Kilmar Abrego Garcia on Friday.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia's charges dismissed

What we know:

Judge Waverly D Crenshaw, Jr., of the Middle District of Tennessee signed the dismissal order on Friday.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Kilmar Abrego Garcia asks judge to toss smuggling case as vindictive

The backstory:

Abrego Garcia, 30, has an American wife and child and has lived in Maryland for years. He entered the U.S. illegally as a teenager.

In 2019, an immigration judge ruled he could not be deported back to El Salvador, saying he and his family faced danger in his home country. Despite that ruling, he was mistakenly deported there last year in what a government attorney later called an administrative error.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: US still plans to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Liberia despite Costa Rica agreement

Upon his return, federal officials charged Abrego Garcia with human smuggling tied to a 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee. He pleaded not guilty.

In February, Abrego Garcia's attorneys requested the charges be dismissed, arguing that the case was vindictive, and sought to punish Abrego Garcia after the administration was forced to return him to the U.S.