DHS Attacks Media for Reporting on Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s Shocking Allegations of Torture

(Diego Fishburn via AP)

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) accused media outlets of peddling a “sympathetic narrative” around Trump deportee Kilmar Abrego Garcia for reporting on new allegations detailed in a chilling new legal complaint of the “graphic torture and abuse” he suffered inside El Salvador’s notorious CECOT prison.

Lawyers for Abrego Garcia, who was removed from the U.S. despite a court order blocking his deportation, said he was beaten, denied sleep, deprived of food, and psychologically tortured for nearly a month inside CECOT, the sprawling mega-prison hailed by President Nayib Bukele.

But on Thursday, complete with screengrab from a Politico report on the filing, the DHS ripped outlets that it said “continue to peddle his sob story.”

Elsewhere, reacting to the news, commentators like New York Times columnist David French described the alleged treatment as “horrific.”

Abrego Garcia, who was living in Maryland with his American wife and children, was deported to El Salvador in March. According to the complaint filed this week, he was then frog-marched into CECOT where he was struck repeatedly with batons and forced to change into prison garb under assault, his lawyers say.

The complaint describes his cell as overcrowded, windowless, and illuminated 24/7. Abrego Garcia was reportedly forced to kneel for hours on end, denied access to a toilet, and beaten when he moved.

“Screams from nearby cells would similarly ring out throughout the night,” the complaint states.

Officials at the facility reportedly acknowledged he had no gang affiliations but kept him locked up with those who did. After losing 31 pounds, Abrego Garcia was moved to a new unit where “staged” photos were taken to suggest improved conditions. He was kept from speaking to family or legal counsel for weeks, until Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) visited him in April.

Abrego Garcia is now back in U.S. custody, facing a federal indictment on migrant smuggling charges. He has pleaded not guilty.