Justice Department seeks to revive charges against mistakenly deported man

The U.S. Justice Department is fighting to reinstate criminal charges against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, arguing that a federal judge wrongly dismissed the human smuggling case. The department is appealing a May ruling by U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw, who had labeled the prosecution of Garcia, a Salvadoran national mistakenly deported to an El Salvador prison, an "abuse of prosecuting power."

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abuse of prosecuting power

Judge Crenshaw's ruling, which threw out the charges, was an extraordinary rebuke to the Justice Department. He found that Abrego Garcia would not have faced criminal charges if he had not successfully sued the government over his 2025 deportation. The judge noted the timing of the indictment, stating that Homeland Security was aware of the traffic stop that formed the basis of the charges for over two years before Garcia's deportation. The agency only reopened the case after Garcia was ordered returned to the U.S.

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presumptive vindictiveness

While Crenshaw stopped short of finding "actual vindictiveness," he did cite evidence of "presumptive vindictiveness." This included statements by then-Deputy U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche, which the judge suggested indicated the Justice Department was targeting Garcia because he won his wrongful-deportation case. In their appeal brief, federal prosecutors contend that Blanche's statements reflected a "normal assessment of the societal interest in punishment" and a legitimate motive to protect the public and confirm prior assertions about Garcia's criminal activity, rather than an improper penalty.

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normal assessment of the societal interest in punishment