DOJ asks court to reinstate Abrego Garcia charges

The Department of Justice (DOJ) is requesting that a federal appeals court reinstate criminal charges against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, following a lower court order earlier this year that found the Salvadoran man was the subject of a likely vindictive prosecution. 

In a Monday court filing in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, the DOJ denied that the prosecution was vindictive, arguing the District Court’s order was “erroneous at every step.”

Abrego Garcia faced two counts of human smuggling charges after he challenged the Trump administration’s decision to deport him to a megaprison in his native El Salvador. He reentered the U.S. in June 2025 after the Supreme Court said the White House must “facilitate” his return.

The smuggling charges were connected to a 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee, where he was pulled over by state Highway Patrol for speeding and........

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