Returned illegal Abrego Garcia pleads not guilty; judge yet to rule on pretrial custody

After nearly six hours of testimony Friday accused human trafficker Kilmar Abrego Garcia is no closer to learning whether he can be published from custody pending his federal trial in Nashville The pretrial hearing began with Abrego Garcia an alleged MS- member charged with the trafficking of undocumented movers and conspiring with others to do so pleading not guilty Garcia s legal unit narrated U S Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes Friday it had time to review the indictment and that Garcia understood what he is accused of before he formally entered the plea which stems from a traffic stop The federal criminal situation against Abrego Garcia comes after a high-profile protracted legal fight over his deportation and the Trump administration's efforts to delay his return to the U S even after the Supreme Court ordered the administration to facilitate his release DEMOCRATS CELEBRATE RETURN OF SUSPECTED HUMAN TRAFFICKER KILMAR ABREGO GARCIAAbrego Garcia sat silently during the proceedings wearing a red jumpsuit with an orange undershirt his gaze mostly concentrated on the prosecution and a window in the courtroom Abrego Garcia s mother brother and wife were present in court as were members of the nonprofit Court Appointed Special Advocates CASA which was helping with particular translations for the family and providing moral patronage During the hearing the prosecution brought forward Special Agent Peter Joseph who advised prosecutors he was first assigned to Abrego Garcia s episode in April when Abrego Garcia was still detained in El Salvador Since then Joseph mentioned he has reviewed footage from Abrego Garcia s traffic stop which has emerged as the basis of the human smuggling charges At the time Joseph stated prosecutors Abrego Garcia had been driving a truck with nine passengers and was pulled over while traveling from St Louis to Maryland with an expired license HOMELAND PRECAUTION REVEALS IDENTITIES OF THE INHABITANTS SAFETY THREATS WHO ESCAPED NEWARK ICE FACILITYSix of the nine passengers in the automobile have since been identified as being in the country illegally Joseph revealed adding one voyager in the van described officers he was born in which would have made him just at the time Joseph mentioned that based on evidence Abrego Garcia was paid per trip and that he would carriage people per month ICE BREAKOUT IN NEW JERSEY SYMPTOM OF DEMOCRATIC CHAOS ACROSS THE COUNTRY LOCAL GOP LEADER SAYSIn addition to the smuggling Joseph alleged Abrego Garcia also engaged in inappropriate conduct with underage girls he was transporting including a -year-old allegedly questioned by Abrego Garcia to send him nude photos During the defense s cross-examination however it was noted that Joseph was not present for certain of the interviews with female sources which led the defense to claim his testimony was based on hearsay and should be thrown out Holmes however allowed all the testimony without striking anything Acting U S Attorney Robert McGuire also discussed two protective orders filed by Abrego Garcia s wife Jennifer Vasquez Sura in and in which she described him as abusive and domineering McGuire argued in favor of Abrego Garcia remaining detained pending trial saying he poses a flight pitfall and a danger to the populace based on what he called a commonsense view of the highway patrol traffic stop and the evidence presented in court of there being serious concerns about the transportation of minors However Will Allensworth a federal constituents defender representing Abrego Garcia argued the testimony was disorganized and that it is unclear how much of it was based on hearsay He claimed there should be no concern about Abrego Garcia being a flight hazard because he would go straight into ICE custody APPEALS COURT GRANTS TRUMP SHORT-TERM WIN OVER BOASBERG IN IMMIGRATION RULINGAnother society defender Dumaka Shabazz argued the charge being leveled is not a crime of terrorism which he explained clearly supports his release Shabazz also disclosed Abrego Garcia has experienced trauma and depression due to his deportation has strong ties to the area and all of his loved ones are in the U S so he has no incentive to flee CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGEHolmes did not set a date for the next court hearing but stated it will be determined soon