NASHVILLE, TENN. — U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw dismissed human smuggling charges against Kilmar Abrego Garcia on Friday in Nashville, ruling that the case was the product of selective or vindictive prosecution. The judge wrote that the government would not have brought the case if Abrego Garcia had not successfully challenged his removal to El Salvador.

Abrego Garcia had been charged with human smuggling and conspiracy to commit human smuggling, accused of accepting money to transport people illegally within the United States. The charges stemmed from a November 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee for speeding, during which nine passengers were found in his car. Body camera footage from a Tennessee Highway Patrol officer showed a calm exchange during the stop, and Abrego Garcia was allowed to continue driving with only a warning.

Crenshaw had previously found evidence that the prosecution may be vindictive. In his ruling, the judge cited a statement by then-Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche suggesting the Justice Department charged Abrego Garcia because he won his wrongful-deportation case.

"The Court does not reach its conclusion lightly," Crenshaw wrote. "The objective evidence here shows that, absent Abrego's successful lawsuit challenging his removal to El Salvador, the Government would not have brought this prosecution."

During the proceedings, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Rob McGuire resisted requests to provide documents and testimony from senior Justice Department officials, including Blanche. McGuire said he was the sole decision-maker in bringing charges against Abrego Garcia and that "the evidence pointed to Abrego Garcia having committed a crime."

A Department of Homeland Security agent testified that the investigation into the traffic stop began only after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in April 2025 that the administration must return Abrego Garcia to the United States.

Abrego Garcia is a Salvadoran citizen who immigrated illegally as a teenager and has lived in Maryland for years with an American wife and child. A 2019 immigration court order granted him protection from deportation to El Salvador due to threats from a gang targeting his family. That order allowed him to live and work in the U.S. under Immigration and Customs Enforcement supervision without residency status.

Trump administration officials have said Abrego Garcia cannot remain in the U.S. and have vowed to deport him to a third country, most recently Liberia.