Judge orders attorneys in Kilmar Abrego Garcia case to refrain from public comment

Supporters of Kilmar Abrego Garcia protest outside the Fred D. Thompson Federal Courthouse in Nashville on June 13 before Abrego Garcia’s arraignment on federal charges. (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)

NASHVILLE — A federal judge presiding over the Tennessee criminal charges against Kilmar Abrego Garcia has ordered lawyers to refrain from making public statements about the case.

Thursday’s order by US District Judge Waverly Crenshaw came at the request of Abrego’s attorneys, who argued that government officials had “launched a public disparagement campaign against” their client that could prejudice his chance at a fair trial and violated standard court rules.

The defense attorneys cited a string of statements by members of the Trump administration that variously labelled Abrego a “gangbanger,” “monster,” “Illegal predator,” “Illegal alien terrorist,” “wife beater” and “barbarian.”

“From the moment Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia challenged his illegal rendition to El Salvador in March 2025, the government has repeatedly maligned him in public statements,” the attorneys wrote.

Abrego Garcia was beaten and tortured in Salvadoran prison, new court filings reveal

“Mr. Abrego is entitled to a fair trial,” they wrote. “But he is nearly certain to be denied that right if the government, left to its own devices, stays its current course.”

Crenshaw’s one-sentence order, issued in response, said: “All counsel are expected to comply with the local rules of this court.”

Court rules prohibit making public statements that “have a substantial likelihood of materially prejudicing an adjudicative proceeding in the matter.” The rule applies to attorneys and “the government agencies or offices . . . and employees of such . . . government agencies or offices, with which the lawyer is associated.”

Abrego was living in Maryland when he was mistakenly dispatched to a Salvadoran prison as part of a larger Trump administration illegal immigration crackdown. 

Court documents filed Wednesday in a separate immigration case in Maryland alleged Abrego endured “severe beatings, severe sleep deprivation, inadequate nutrition, and psychological torture” while there.

He was later brought to Nashville to face two human smuggling charges. Prosecutors allege Abrego participated in a scheme to transport migrants who illegally entered the United States to points around the country. 

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The former federal prosecutor who conceded Abrego had wrongly been sent to the notorious CECOT prison in El Salvador was later fired and has subsequently filed a whistleblower complaint that alleges his termination was, in part, related to his public admission of the government’s administrative error in the high-profile case.

Abrego, who has no past criminal history in the United States, has entered not guilty pleas to the charges. 

Abrego is due back in a Nashville courtroom July 16 for a hearing that could determine if he is released from federal custody. 

Both prosecutors and defense attorneys concede Abrego will almost certainly be taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) should he be released from the custody of the U.S. Marshalls, who maintain control over federal pretrial detainees.

Abrego, 29, entered the United States illegally from El Salvador as a teenager, but in 2019 an immigration judge issued an order preventing U.S. officials from deporting him to his home country, where Abrego said he feared gang violence.

A federal magistrate in Nashville initially granted Abrego’s release last week. 

But defense attorneys, citing conflicting statements by the Trump administration about whether Abrego could be removed from the United States before trial, have asked he temporarily remain jailed in Nashville. 
Abrego Garcia motion