{"id":144883,"date":"2026-02-26T15:44:02","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T23:44:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/02\/26\/abrego-garcia-invokes-the-chill-the-hell-out-defense-against-trump-administration\/"},"modified":"2026-02-26T15:44:02","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T23:44:02","slug":"abrego-garcia-invokes-the-chill-the-hell-out-defense-against-trump-administration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/02\/26\/abrego-garcia-invokes-the-chill-the-hell-out-defense-against-trump-administration\/","title":{"rendered":"Abrego Garcia Invokes The \u2018Chill The Hell Out\u2019 Defense Against Trump Administration"},"content":{"rendered":"

The DOJ has been using the \u201cthrow spaghetti until something sticks\u201d method against Kilmar Abrego Garcia for ages now. With too much egg on their face to just leave him alone after it came to light that he was wrongly deported to an El Salvadoran slave camp and forced back here by SCOTUS<\/a>, the administration is desperate for anything it can find to charge him with something. They\u2019ve recently landed on human smuggling charges, but his legal team is trying to get the charges thrown out as harassment. NBC News<\/a> has coverage:<\/p>\n

\n

[Abrego Garcia] was eventually returned to the U.S. only to face criminal charges of human smuggling based on a 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee. He has pleaded not guilty.<\/p>\n

Body camera footage from a Tennessee Highway Patrol officer shows a calm exchange with Abrego after he was pulled over for speeding. There were nine passengers in the car, and the officers discussed among themselves their suspicions of smuggling. However, Abrego was eventually allowed to continue driving with only a warning.
\u2026
U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw previously found some evidence that the prosecution against Abrego \u201cmay be vindictive.\u201d The judge said many statements by Trump administration officials \u201craise cause for concern.\u201d He cited a statement by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche that seemed to suggest the Department of Justice charged Abrego because he won his wrongful-deportation case.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Rob McGuire, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee, admits that the timing of the charge is strange<\/a>, but holds that he wasn\u2019t aware of the police footage back in 2022. McGuire pointed to the number of people Garcia was driving, that they didn\u2019t have bags, and the owner of the car as reasons for suspicion \u2014 but those aren\u2019t enough to calm everyone else\u2019s suspicions that this has more to do with politics than justice. If this wasn\u2019t about vengeance, he\u2019d have been in Costa Rica months ago:<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

Hard to think of a story more pundits misunderstand.<\/p>\n

Kilmar Abrego Garcia *agreed to be deported*\u2014months ago\u2014to Costa Rica, which accepted. The admin refuses & is insisting on sending him to various African countries, which declined.<\/p>\n

He’s still here because of the government. https:\/\/t.co\/Zo5KgoK99f<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Billy Binion (@billybinion) February 17, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Kilmar Abrego Garcia Asks U.S. Judge In Tennessee To Dismiss His Criminal Case, Saying It\u2019s Vindictive<\/a> [NBC News]<\/p>\n

Earlier<\/strong>: Trump Administration Learns To Its Dismay It \u2018Cannot Alter Substantive Rights\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

\n
\"\"
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord\u2122 in the Facebook group\u00a0Law School Memes for Edgy T14s . \u00a0He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who is learning to swim,\u00a0is interested in critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at\u00a0cwilliams@abovethelaw.com <\/a>and by tweet at\u00a0@WritesForRent<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The post Abrego Garcia Invokes The \u2018Chill The Hell Out\u2019 Defense Against Trump Administration<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The DOJ has been using the \u201cthrow spaghetti until something sticks\u201d method against Kilmar Abrego Garcia for ages now. With too much egg on their face to just leave him alone after it came to light that he was wrongly deported to an El Salvadoran slave camp and forced back here by SCOTUS<\/a>, the administration is desperate for anything it can find to charge him with something. They\u2019ve recently landed on human smuggling charges, but his legal team is trying to get the charges thrown out as harassment. NBC News<\/a> has coverage:<\/p>\n

\n

[Abrego Garcia] was eventually returned to the U.S. only to face criminal charges of human smuggling based on a 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee. He has pleaded not guilty.<\/p>\n

Body camera footage from a Tennessee Highway Patrol officer shows a calm exchange with Abrego after he was pulled over for speeding. There were nine passengers in the car, and the officers discussed among themselves their suspicions of smuggling. However, Abrego was eventually allowed to continue driving with only a warning.
\u2026
U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw previously found some evidence that the prosecution against Abrego \u201cmay be vindictive.\u201d The judge said many statements by Trump administration officials \u201craise cause for concern.\u201d He cited a statement by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche that seemed to suggest the Department of Justice charged Abrego because he won his wrongful-deportation case.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Rob McGuire, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee, admits that the timing of the charge is strange<\/a>, but holds that he wasn\u2019t aware of the police footage back in 2022. McGuire pointed to the number of people Garcia was driving, that they didn\u2019t have bags, and the owner of the car as reasons for suspicion \u2014 but those aren\u2019t enough to calm everyone else\u2019s suspicions that this has more to do with politics than justice. If this wasn\u2019t about vengeance, he\u2019d have been in Costa Rica months ago:<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

Hard to think of a story more pundits misunderstand.<\/p>\n

Kilmar Abrego Garcia *agreed to be deported*\u2014months ago\u2014to Costa Rica, which accepted. The admin refuses & is insisting on sending him to various African countries, which declined.<\/p>\n

He’s still here because of the government. https:\/\/t.co\/Zo5KgoK99f<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Billy Binion (@billybinion) February 17, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Kilmar Abrego Garcia Asks U.S. Judge In Tennessee To Dismiss His Criminal Case, Saying It\u2019s Vindictive<\/a> [NBC News]<\/p>\n

Earlier<\/strong>: Trump Administration Learns To Its Dismay It \u2018Cannot Alter Substantive Rights\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

\n
\"\"
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord\u2122 in the Facebook group\u00a0Law School Memes for Edgy T14s . \u00a0He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who is learning to swim,\u00a0is interested in critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at\u00a0cwilliams@abovethelaw.com <\/a>and by tweet at\u00a0@WritesForRent<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The post Abrego Garcia Invokes The \u2018Chill The Hell Out\u2019 Defense Against Trump Administration<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The DOJ has been using the \u201cthrow spaghetti until something sticks\u201d method against Kilmar Abrego Garcia for ages now. With too much egg on their face to just leave him alone after it came to light that he was wrongly deported to an El Salvadoran slave camp and forced back here by SCOTUS, the administration […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":144884,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-144883","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above_the_law"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xira.com\/p\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Chris-Williams-2025-2EPf3h.jpg?fit=512%2C288&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144883","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=144883"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144883\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/144884"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=144883"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=144883"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=144883"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}