Trump Admin Releases Documents on Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s 2019 Arrest, Domestic Abuse Allegations

The Department of Justice (DOJ) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have released documents regarding the criminal history of the wrongfully deported El Salvadorian man, Kilmar Abrego Garcia.

DOJ Docs: Attorney General Pam Bondi shared documentation of a 2019 arrest in Maryland that alleged Abrego Garcia was an active member of the gang MS-13. The documents allege Abrego Garcia and three other men were in possession of marijuana at the time, and that Abrego Garcia said he entered the US illegally in March 2012.

DHS Docs: The DHS released documents from 2021 that show Abrego Garcia’s wife, Jennifer Vasquez, filed for a restraining order and claimed he “punched and scratched,” “ripped off her shirt,” and “grabbed and bruised” her. Just The News (Lean Right bias) reported reviewing DHS documents that determined Abrego Garcia “was flagged in 2022 by the Biden administration as a ‘suspect alien’ who was possibly involved in ‘human smuggling/trafficking.’”

For Context: The Trump administration previously said Abrego Garcia was deported by mistake. The Supreme Court ruled that the administration must return Abrego Garcia to the US, but President Trump and El Salvadorian President Nayib Bukele both indicated he would not be returned.

How The Media Covered It: NBC News (Lean Left) described the documents as the “government’s case” and noted that the US district judge who ordered Trump to return Abrego Garcia believed the “evidence” tying him to MS-13 was “uncorroborated.” NewsNation (Center) reported speaking to sources who said Abrego Garcia was “stopped by the Tennessee Highway Patrol in 2022 for reportedly illegally transporting eight immigrants from Houston to Maryland,” but not arrested or charged. 

Split Coverage: Just The News and other sources on the right, like Fox News (Right), prominently highlighted that Abrego Garcia is an El Salvadorian national. Sources from the left and center often didn’t include this distinction and described him as a “Maryland man.”

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