Image Credit: @RepOgles / X & ICE
The Tennessee Conservative [By Olivia Lupia] –
After Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem gave a run of press conferences in Nashville addressing the illegal immigration crisis in Tennessee last week, attorneys for Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an illegal alien awaiting a human smuggling trial, have asked the court to silence the Secretary, claiming she violated court rules in the way she spoke about the Garcia case.
During the pressers, Noem spoke about continued efforts in the state to investigate and break up drug and human trafficking rings and ran down a list of illegals arrested in Tennessee with ties to foreign terrorist organizations.
Sec. Noem also called out Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell for actively working against ICE efforts in the state and “doxxing” immigration enforcement agents.
Additionally, the Secretary addressed the ongoing Kilmar Abrego Garcia case, saying justice was overdue given his long and distasteful criminal history.
“I am grateful that this man is being brought to justice. He has a lifetime of trafficking individuals and of taking advantage of minors, soliciting pornography from them, nude photos from them, abusing his wife, abusing other illegals, aliens that were in this country, and women that were under his care while he was trafficking them. He’s a horrible human being and a monster, and he should never be released free…I hope this judge does the right thing and brings this man to justice for the crimes that he has committed. The evidence is overwhelming. This judge needs to make sure that he applies the law equally to every single person that shows up in his courtroom,” she stated.
Apparently, these comments struck a nerve with Garcia’s attorneys who are claiming Noem’s remarks were inflammatory and have demanded a retraction from the government, which has thus far gone unanswered. They have further asked a federal judge to order the Trump administration to cease making any comments about his case.
The motion says Noem’s statements will prejudice the jury pool against Garcia, threatening his “right” to a fair trial.
“Secretary Noem assailed Mr. Abrego’s character and reputation, including with verbal insults and allegations that are irrelevant to the offenses charged in the indictment and almost certainly inadmissible at trial,” they assert. “She also presumed that Mr. Abrego is guilty, without regard to the judicial process or the presumption of innocence, and repeated the government’s refrain that Mr. Abrego should ‘never be released free.’”
According to the filing, the attorneys are requesting U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw clarify the requirements of court rules which theoretically provide no one involved in the investigation make extrajudicial claims against the defendant which may prejudice the proceedings, arguing the rules don’t just pertain to lawyers on the case but also government offices and agencies with which the government is associated. At the request of the defense attorneys, the judge already issued such a reminder to both prosecution and defense on July 3.
Crenshaw is the also the judge set to rule on whether to revoke Garcia’s pretrial release order, with both prosecutors and defense arguing to keep him in jail until his trial, albeit for vastly different reasons.
The government has maintained Garcia is a flight risk and danger to the community, arguments that have thus far not been received positively by the judges, while his attorneys contend he should remain in custody since the DHS intends to deport Garcia should he be granted release on bail.
Judge Crenshaw was initially going to give his decision early this week, but on Sunday the defense attorneys requested a 30-day stay on issuing a new release order if Crenshaw rules against the government, which would allow Garcia to remain in custody for another month if the government loses this appeal of the original release ruling. His attorneys hope this will give Garcia time to “review all his legal options” before the DHS could begin the removals process.
Crenshaw says he will decide later this week, but the filing of this new request for a stay could signal concern from the defense that they expect Crenshaw to uphold the original release ruling or issue a new one.
Meanwhile, a decision is still outstanding from U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis of Maryland who has yet to issue her ruling on Garcia’s separate civil case where he is suing the Trump administration for “wrongful deportment”.
Garcia’s attorneys have pushed to have the federal judge grant their request to return him to Maryland immediately after his release from U.S. Marshal custody in Tennessee to prevent ICE from taking him into custody and imitating deportation proceedings.
About the Author: Olivia Lupia is a political refugee from Colorado who now calls Tennessee home. A proud follower of Christ, she views all political happenings through a Biblical lens and aims to utilize her knowledge and experience to educate and equip others. Olivia is an outspoken conservative who has run for local office, managed campaigns, and been highly involved with state & local GOPs, state legislatures, and other grassroots organizations and movements. Olivia can be reached at olivia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
2 Responses
Good article. Thank you.
Yup, lucifer’s dimmercrap “lawyers”.