DOJ indicts Abrego Garcia the day he returns from El Salvador

The Department of Justice arrested and indicted Kilmar Abrego Garcia on June 6, 2025 — the same day he was brought back to the United States from El Salvador under the Supreme Court's April 10 order — charging him with two counts of unlawful transportation of illegal aliens based on a November 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee. A grand jury had returned the indictment on May 21, 2025, weeks before his return, and then-Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche had made public statements about the case before charges were filed. Defense attorneys argued the timing demonstrated prosecution as retaliation for Abrego Garcia's successful civil lawsuit challenging his deportation.