Judge Strikes Hard at Trump - The Case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia and the Revenge of the State

Sometimes the political anatomy of a government reveals itself not in grand speeches or international crises but in the quiet, paper-filled rooms of a courtroom. The case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia is such a moment - an unassuming name that has become a symbol of a government’s abuse of power and its willingness to bend the law at will.

Federal Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw Jr. in Pennsylvania has ruled in case 3:25-cr-00115 (USA v. Abrego Garcia) that the Department of Justice under Donald Trump may have committed an act of illegal retaliation: the human smuggling charges against the Salvadoran construction worker could have been an act of revenge - because Abrego Garcia had previously successfully sued over his deportation. It is a decision with explosive implications that touches the very core of the American justice system: can the state use its power to punish those who assert their rights? Judge Waverly Crenshaw of the federal court in Harrisburg granted Abrego Garcia’s request for a hearing and ordered discovery. In his 16-page decision, he noted that there are “indications that the prosecution against him may have been vindictive.” The evidence ranges from statements by senior administration officials to the conspicuously timed filing of the charges - a chronology that reeks of calculation.

Crenshaw is particularly pointed at one moment: the statement by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, made during a Fox News appearance in June, could “directly establish that the motivation for the charges arose from Abrego’s exercise of his constitutional rights - rather than any genuine prosecutorial interest.” In other words, the man was charged because he dared to sue the state. The documents submitted by journalists and all of our research were fully included and became part of the proceedings. The basis, in addition to our investigations, was our report in the case “The Shadow Man” under the link: https://kaizen-blog.org/en/der-schattenmann-the-shadow-man/ -, which in the end led to the acquittal of Henry Santos, as documented in our article “A Small Victory” under the link: https://kaizen-blog.org/en/ein-kleiner-sieg/

Abrego Garcia is not a criminal. He came to the United States illegally as a teenager, worked for years in construction in Maryland, married an American citizen, and started a family. In 2019 he was arrested by ICE agents. A judge ruled at the time that although he was not eligible for asylum, he could not be deported to El Salvador because a gang there threatened him. Nonetheless, he was deported - a clear violation of the court order. Abrego sued. And he won. The Supreme Court forced the Trump administration in April to bring him back. As soon as the ruling was issued, the Department of Homeland Security reacted - by reopening the old investigation against him. Only weeks later, on May 21, Abrego was indicted. On June 6, the day of his return from a Salvadoran prison, the government filed the indictment. The charge: human smuggling, based on an alleged incident during a 2022 traffic stop that had never resulted in a citation. For Abrego’s lawyers, the situation is clear: a staged prosecution meant to punish an inconvenient plaintiff. An attempt to make an example. And indeed, the timing feels like a judicial counterstrike with political undertones - a signal to anyone who dares to stand up to the system.

From the outset, the Trump apparatus worked to brand Abrego Garcia as a criminal - as an “MS-13 member,” as a “threat to the public” - yet there is no evidence of any gang affiliation whatsoever. It was a deliberate public takedown. A PR campaign orchestrated by the same government agencies that had previously deported him unlawfully. We followed the case from the very beginning, when it had barely reached public attention, and were able to demonstrate early on that the alleged tattoos meant to depict him as a gang member had been digitally falsified by government agencies. ( https://kaizen-blog.org/en/die-faust-das-foto-und-die-luege-wie-trump-das-recht-mit-einem-irrefuehrenden-bild-ersetzt/ )

What lies beneath these layers of bureaucracy and propaganda is the raw force of state power. Abrego Garcia spent months in a Salvadoran prison, where, according to his own account, he was tortured, beaten, deprived of sleep, and psychologically broken. President Nayib Bukele denies these allegations, but his prisons are notorious for their brutality. The fact that the United States cooperated with a regime that mistreats political prisoners makes the case doubly explosive. Now Judge Crenshaw has done something rare in Trump’s America: he has paused. He has read the file, examined the timeline, weighed the ministers’ words - and voiced the suspicion that justice itself has been turned into a weapon. The court has now authorized comprehensive discovery, requiring the release of government documents, internal emails, and testimony from officials. The process could mark a turning point that extends far beyond this individual case.

For the case of Abrego Garcia shows how dangerous the fusion of politics and prosecution has become. How easily a plaintiff becomes a defendant. And how thin the line has grown that separates democracy from repression. The government has so far not responded to inquiries. Neither the Department of Justice nor the Department of Homeland Security has issued a statement. Silence in Washington often speaks louder than words - especially when it concerns cases that expose abuses of power.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia sitzt weiter in Haft, jedoch in Pennsylvania. Sollte er im Prozess in Tennessee verurteilt werden, droht ihm erneut die Abschiebung – trotz Familie, Arbeit und nachgewiesenem Integrationswillen. Die finale Runde wartet jetzt auf uns alle. Es wäre die letzte Stufe eines politischen Trauerspiels, das als Abschreckung gedacht war und indessen selbst zum Symbol des moralischen Bankrotts einer Regierung geworden ist. Doch vielleicht, ganz vielleicht, ist dieses Urteil der Anfang einer Wende. Ein Moment, in dem sich die Mühlen der Justiz wieder dorthin drehen, wo sie hingehören – gegen die Willkür der Mächtigen, nicht gegen ihre Opfer.