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Judge dismisses charges against Kilmar Abrego Garcia
A federal judge has dismissed human smuggling charges against Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Abrego Garcia's attorneys requested the dismissal arguing the charges were vindictive and retaliatory for the Trump administration having the return Abrego Garcia to the U.S. after he was mistakenly deported to El Salvador.
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.
The Source: Information in this story is from court records from the Middle District of Tennessee and previous FOX 5 reports.