section_path: Return to the United States and criminal charges
section_name: Return to the United States and criminal charges
paragraph_text: Return to the United States and criminal charges
  
  On June 6, 2025, the government brought Abrego Garcia back to the US, and the DOJ announced that he had been indicted in Tennessee for unlawfully transporting illegal immigrants for financial gain, and conspiring to do so. The case has been assigned to Judge Waverly Crenshaw. The indictment was filed on May 21 under seal and was unsealed on June 6. A federal arrest warrant was issued after the indictment was filed, and the day of Abrego Garcia's return, Attorney General Bondi said that the US had presented the arrest warrant to the government of El Salvador. President Bukele tweeted that "of course we wouldn’t refuse" a US request to return someone to face charges.
  
  One of Abrego Garcia's lawyers, Simon Sandoval Moshenberg, said that the administration's decision to bring Abrego Garcia back to the US in order to prosecute him indicated that it had been "playing games with the court all along". Another of his lawyers, Andrew Rossman, said that the return proved that the administration could have brought him back earlier but "just refused to do so".
  
  The next day, Trump stated he did not speak with Bukele about releasing Abrego Garcia, and it "wasn't my decision" to bring him back to the US, but was instead the DOJ's decision. Trump called Senator Van Hollen a "loser" for having defended Abrego Garcia's due process rights, and White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said Van Hollen should "immediately apologize to Garcia's victims." Van Hollen responded that he "will never apologize for defending the Constitution", and instead Trump "should apologize to the country for violating his oath to the Constitution."
  
  The indictment led Ben Schrader, the chief of the criminal division of the US Attorney's Office in Nashville, to resign, reportedly based on his concerns that the case was being pursued for political reasons.
  
  The indictment stems from a late 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee, in which Abrego Garcia is now alleged to have been engaged in human smuggling. The owner of the vehicle, Jose Ramon Hernandez-Reyes, who was not there at the time, had previously been convicted of transporting illegal aliens, and after completing his sentence, he was convicted of illegally re-entering the US. Hernandez-Reyes is currently serving a sentence for his illegal re-entry, and in April 2025, federal officers spoke with him in prison, reportedly to question him about the 2022 stop. The officers allegedly granted him limited immunity, and were told that he met Abrego Garcia in 2015 and hired him periodically to transport illegal immigrants. The indictment alleges that Abrego Garcia made more than 100 trips over almost 10 years, and that the larger conspiracy involved smuggling thousands of illegal immigrants, including children and members of the MS-13 gang. Although the indictment discusses co-conspirators, it does not include charges against any of them. It also alleges uncharged crimes, such as transporting illegal firearms.
  
  In her June 6 press conference about the indictment, Bondi stated that witnesses had spoken of Abrego Garcia's involvement in other crimes, including murder and the solicitation of child pornography. These allegations were not included the indictment, but were included in the DOJ's motion for pretrial detention. When asked what had changed that Abrego Garcia was now being charged, Bondi said that due to the attention that Abrego Garcia's case had received, there were "recently found facts". The new information reportedly came from a witness who reached out to the DOJ.
  
  Upon return, Abrego Garcia was taken to court to hear the charges, where he confirmed to the magistrate judge, Barbara Holmes, that he understood them. The DOJ filed a motion that he be held in detention pending trial, on the grounds that he is a flight risk and is too dangerous to release on bail. He would remain in jail at least until Holmes ruled on the detention motion. Abrego Garcia was represented by public defenders, who opposed the pretrial detention motion, arguing that he is neither a flight risk nor a danger to the public, and that the crimes with which he has been charged do not normally involve pretrial detention.
  
  In a June 13 arraignment hearing, Abrego Garcia pleaded not guilty to the charges. The motion for pretrial detention was also addressed. The government was represented by Acting US Attorney Rob McGuire. Magistrate Judge Holmes called the flight risk argument "academic", since immigration had already placed a hold on him and could take Abrego Garcia into custody even if she ruled that he should not be held in detention. Peter Joseph, a DHS special agent, was the only witness at the hearing. He said that he was assigned to the case on April 28, 2025, and that the investigation involved information from confidential witnesses and from license plate readers in several states. Four of the five confidential witnesses are members of a single family, and three of five have pending criminal and immigration cases, and made their statements as part of cooperation deals. One of the witnesses is Jose Ramon Hernandez-Reyes, who owned the car Abrego Garcia was driving when he was stopped in Tennessee in 2022. In exchange for his witness testimony, Hernandez-Reyes, who had been imprisoned and was supposed to be deported after serving his sentence, was moved to a half-way house and will be allowed to remain in the US, likely with work authorization. Joseph also said that there was erroneous information in an earlier DHS report about the traffic stop, and that DHS had been able to identify six of the passengers who were in the car at the time, all of whom had entered the country illegally.
  
  On June 18, 2025, Abrego Garcia replaced his public defenders with Rascoe Dean, a former deputy criminal chief in the US Attorney's office that is now trying Abrego Garcia, and three lawyers with Hecker Fink LLP, which specializes in defending clients against federal investigations.
  
  On June 6, 2025, the government brought Abrego Garcia back to the US, and the DOJ announced that he had been indicted in Tennessee for unlawfully transporting illegal immigrants for financial gain, and conspiring to do so. The case has been assigned to Judge Waverly Crenshaw. The indictment was filed on May 21 under seal and was unsealed on June 6. A federal arrest warrant was issued after the indictment was filed, and the day of Abrego Garcia's return, Attorney General Bondi said that the US had presented the arrest warrant to the government of El Salvador. President Bukele tweeted that "of course we wouldn’t refuse" a US request to return someone to face charges.
  
  One of Abrego Garcia's lawyers, Simon Sandoval Moshenberg, said that the administration's decision to bring Abrego Garcia back to the US in order to prosecute him indicated that it had been "playing games with the court all along". Another of his lawyers, Andrew Rossman, said that the return proved that the administration could have brought him back earlier but "just refused to do so".
  
  The next day, Trump stated he did not speak with Bukele about releasing Abrego Garcia, and it "wasn't my decision" to bring him back to the US, but was instead the DOJ's decision. Trump called Senator Van Hollen a "loser" for having defended Abrego Garcia's due process rights, and White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said Van Hollen should "immediately apologize to Garcia's victims." Van Hollen responded that he "will never apologize for defending the Constitution", and instead Trump "should apologize to the country for violating his oath to the Constitution."
  
  The indictment led Ben Schrader, the chief of the criminal division of the US Attorney's Office in Nashville, to resign, reportedly based on his concerns that the case was being pursued for political reasons.
  
  The indictment stems from a late 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee, in which Abrego Garcia is now alleged to have been engaged in human smuggling. The owner of the vehicle, Jose Ramon Hernandez-Reyes, who was not there at the time, had previously been convicted of transporting illegal aliens, and after completing his sentence, he was convicted of illegally re-entering the US. Hernandez-Reyes is currently serving a sentence for his illegal re-entry, and in April 2025, federal officers spoke with him in prison, reportedly to question him about the 2022 stop. The officers allegedly granted him limited immunity, and were told that he met Abrego Garcia in 2015 and hired him periodically to transport illegal immigrants. The indictment alleges that Abrego Garcia made more than 100 trips over almost 10 years, and that the larger conspiracy involved smuggling thousands of illegal immigrants, including children and members of the MS-13 gang. Although the indictment discusses co-conspirators, it does not include charges against any of them. It also alleges uncharged crimes, such as transporting illegal firearms.
  
  In her June 6 press conference about the indictment, Bondi stated that witnesses had spoken of Abrego Garcia's involvement in other crimes, including murder and the solicitation of child pornography. These allegations were not included the indictment, but were included in the DOJ's motion for pretrial detention. When asked what had changed that Abrego Garcia was now being charged, Bondi said that due to the attention that Abrego Garcia's case had received, there were "recently found facts". The new information reportedly came from a witness who reached out to the DOJ.
  
  Upon return, Abrego Garcia was taken to court to hear the charges, where he confirmed to the magistrate judge, Barbara Holmes, that he understood them. The DOJ filed a motion that he be held in detention pending trial, on the grounds that he is a flight risk and is too dangerous to release on bail. He would remain in jail at least until Holmes ruled on the detention motion. Abrego Garcia was represented by public defenders, who opposed the pretrial detention motion, arguing that he is neither a flight risk nor a danger to the public, and that the crimes with which he has been charged do not normally involve pretrial detention.
  
  In a June 13 arraignment hearing, Abrego Garcia pleaded not guilty to the charges. The motion for pretrial detention was also addressed. The government was represented by Acting US Attorney Rob McGuire. Magistrate Judge Holmes called the flight risk argument "academic", since immigration had already placed a hold on him and could take Abrego Garcia into custody even if she ruled that he should not be held in detention. Peter Joseph, a DHS special agent, was the only witness at the hearing. He said that he was assigned to the case on April 28, 2025, and that the investigation involved information from confidential witnesses and from license plate readers in several states. Four of the five confidential witnesses are members of a single family, and three of five have pending criminal and immigration cases, and made their statements as part of cooperation deals. One of the witnesses is Jose Ramon Hernandez-Reyes, who owned the car Abrego Garcia was driving when he was stopped in Tennessee in 2022. In exchange for his witness testimony, Hernandez-Reyes, who had been imprisoned and was supposed to be deported after serving his sentence, was moved to a half-way house and will be allowed to remain in the US, likely with work authorization. Joseph also said that there was erroneous information in an earlier DHS report about the traffic stop, and that DHS had been able to identify six of the passengers who were in the car at the time, all of whom had entered the country illegally.
  
  On June 18, 2025, Abrego Garcia replaced his public defenders with Rascoe Dean, a former deputy criminal chief in the US Attorney's office that is now trying Abrego Garcia, and three lawyers with Hecker Fink LLP, which specializes in defending clients against federal investigations.