DOJ seeks to restore smuggling case against Kilmar Abrego Garcia
What's new: Prosecutors asked the 6th Circuit to overturn a May ruling that found the indictment appeared retaliatory.
The Justice Department asked a federal appeals court to reinstate human smuggling charges against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Salvadoran man whose case drew national attention after his mistaken deportation to an El Salvador prison. In a brief filed Monday with the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, prosecutors argued U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw wrongly dismissed the indictment in May after finding a presumption of vindictiveness. Crenshaw pointed to the timing of the case, the role of senior Justice Department officials and public remarks by Todd Blanche. The charges stem from a 2022 Tennessee traffic stop that did not lead to an arrest at the time. Abrego Garcia was later returned to the United States from El Salvador to face the case.