Judge rebukes Bondi and Noem over Abrego Garcia comments
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Kilmar Abrego Garcia enters an ICE field office on August 25, 2025. Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images.
A federal judge slammed Attorney General Pam Bondi and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Monday for making inflammatory public comments about Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man who was wrongfully deported by the Trump administration earlier this year.
Why it matters: The judge stopped short of issuing Abrego Garcia's requested gag order but agreed with his arguments that the ongoing pattern of attacks from federal officials and agencies could be putting his right to a fair trial at risk.
What they're saying: "Employees of DOJ and DHS are hereby on notice that they are prohibited from making any extrajudicial statement … that will interfere with a fair trial," U.S. District Court Judge Waverly Crenshaw said in three-page ruling issued on Monday.
- The ruling instructs government counsel to notify federal employees about their obligation to adhere to court procedures that prohibit such out-of-court comments.
- The judge also said that DOJ and DHS employees who make such statements "may be subject to sanctions."
- Abrego Garcia's attorney, Sean Hecker, declined to comment on the ruling.
The intrigue: The Trump administration revealed in court on Monday that it's seeking to deport Abrego Garcia to Liberia, a country the Maryland resident from El Salvador has no ties to, as soon as Friday.
- Liberia is the latest African country the administration has sought to deport him to, following a previous push to send him to Uganda.
- The move will reverse earlier plans to allow Abrego Garcia to go to trial in the U.S. over alleged human trafficking charges in January.
Catch up quick: The plans to deport Abrego Garcia again emerged after he was released from pretrial detention in Tennessee in August, reigniting the firestorm of attacks the administration has launched against him since the administration first mistakenly sent him to a notorious Salvadorian jail in March.
Zoom in: The judges' ruling responds to a motion Abrego Garcia filed in August, which detailed multiple instances of Trump administration officials disparaging him in public comments.
- Abrego Garcia's legal team categorically rejects the administration's allegation that he is a gang member.
Of note: The gag request did not explicitly ask the judge to limit President Trump's comments, although some of the president's previous statements are mentioned in the motion.
Go deeper: What has happened in Kilmar Abrego Garcia's case so far
