Here’s the Criminal Indictment Awaiting Kilmar Abrego Garcia When He Returns to the U.S.

AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia is heading back to the United States from a prison in El Salvador, and a two-count criminal indictment will be awaiting him when he arrives.

ABC News reported Friday afternoon that Abrego Garcia was being transported back to the U.S. and expected to land later that afternoon. The indictment was initially filed under seal in Tennessee and accuses him of being involved in transporting illegal immigrants.

Abrego Garcia, a citizen of El Salvador living illegally in Maryland with his wife and children, was deported in March and sent to the Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo, abbreviated CECOT, a notorious maximum security prison established by El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele that is well-documented to be a cesspool of human rights abuses. In multiple court filings, at least three separate Trump administration officials have conceded that Abrego Garcia had been mistakenly deported because of an “administrative error.”

The federal judges who have issued rulings on the case thus far have found the government’s arguments that Abrego Garcia is a member of the MS-13 gang flimsy, and have ruled that he is entitled to due process. Until now, he had never been convicted or even charged with a crime, although he has been arrested and had other encounters with law enforcement over the years.

One of those encounters is the foundation for the new indictment against him, unsealed today (embedded at the end of this article).

It was initially filed in federal court in Nashville, Tennessee on May 21 and accuses Abrego Garcia of participating in a conspiracy with five other person “to bring undocumented aliens to the United States from countries such as Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Ecuador, and elsewhere, ultimately passing through Mexico before crossing into Texas,” in exchange for payment.

The two counts in the indictment are 8 U.S.C. § 1324 (a)(1)(A)(v)(I), Conspiracy to Transport Aliens, and 8 U.S.C. §1324 (a)(1)(A)(ii), Unlawful transportation of undocumented aliens.

The indictment specifically alleges that Abrego Garcia “was a member and associate of the transnational criminal organization” known as MS-13, and that he and the other co-conspirators “knowingly and unlawfully transported thousands of undocumented aliens who had no authorization to be present in the United States, and many of whom were MS-13 members and associates,” and also “occasionally and simultaneously transported firearms illegally purchased in Texas for distribution and resale in Maryland.” One of the other unnamed co-conspirators accused Abrego Garcia of abusing some of the female illegal immigrants, according to the indictment.

The November 2022 traffic stop, in which Abrego Garcia was pulled over by the Tennessee Highway Patrol, is mentioned in the indictment, describing him as driving a Chevrolet Suburban with nine Hispanic male passengers who did not have identification or luggage.

If Abrego Garcia is convicted, the indictment seeks the forfeiture of any vehicle used to transport illegal immigrants and any proceeds received as payment for that transportation.

Later in the day Friday, ABC News updated its report with additional information, including the resignation of federal prosecutor Ben Schrader because he disagreed with the indictment:

The decision to pursue the indictment against Abrego Garcia led to the abrupt departure of Ben Schrader, a high-ranking federal prosecutor in Tennessee, sources briefed on Schrader’s decision told ABC News. Schrader’s resignation was prompted by concerns that the case was being pursued for political reasons, the sources said.

Schrader, who spent 15 years in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Nashville and was most recently the chief of the criminal division, declined to comment when contacted by ABC News.

As of Friday evening, Abrego Garcia has arrived in Tennessee, had an initial court appearance, and has a hearing scheduled for June 13. He will remain in federal custody until that hearing, at which time the judge will hear the government’s motion to continue to hold him in pre-trial detention.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia Indictment by sarahrumpf on Scribd

This is a breaking news story and has been updated.