Judge said newly unsealed government documents show ‘some evidence’ of vindictive prosecution by DoJ

A newly unsealed order in the criminal case against Kilmar Ábrego García reveals that high-level justice department officials pushed for his indictment, calling it a “top priority”, only after he was mistakenly deported and then ordered returned to the U.S.

Ábrego García, originally from El Salvador, has pleaded not guilty in federal court in Tennessee to charges of human smuggling. He is seeking to have the case dismissed on the grounds that the prosecution is vindictive – a way for the Trump administration to punish him for the embarrassment of his mistaken deportation.

Ábrego plans return to Maryland as DHS pledges to appeal judge’s decision, calling ruling ‘naked judicial activism’

Kilmar Ábrego García has been freed from an immigration detention facility in Pennsylvania after a federal judge in Maryland ordered his release on Thursday.

Ábrego was released shortly before 5pm ET, his attorney told the Associated Press. He plans to return to Maryland, where he has lived for many years with his US citizen wife and child after first entering the country illegally as a teenager.