A court sketch of Kilmar Abrego Garcia during the first day of a pretrial hearing (Paul Collins)
Abrego 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 some translations for the family and providing moral support.
During the hearing, the prosecution brought forward Special Agent Peter Joseph, who told prosecutors he was first assigned to Abrego Garcia’s case in April 2025, when Abrego Garcia was still detained in El Salvador.
Since then, Joseph said, he has reviewed footage from Abrego Garcia’s 2022 traffic stop, which has emerged as the basis of the human smuggling charges.
At the time, Joseph told prosecutors, Abrego Garcia had been driving a vehicle with nine passengers and was pulled over while traveling from St. Louis to Maryland with an expired license.
Full court view from behind Abrego Garcia's wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura (Paul Collins)
Acting U.S. Attorney Robert McGuire also discussed two protective orders filed by Abrego Garcia’s wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, in 2020 and 2021, 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 risk and a danger to the public 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 public 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 risk because he would go straight into ICE custody.
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Abrego Garcia in court (Paul Collins)
Another public defender, Dumaka Shabazz, argued the charge being leveled is not a crime of terrorism, which he said clearly supports his release. Shabazz also said Abrego Garcia has experienced trauma and depression due to his deportation, has strong ties to the community and all of his loved ones are in the U.S., so he has no incentive to flee.
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Holmes did not set a date for the next court hearing but said it will be determined soon.
Fox News Digital's Breanne Deppisch contributed to this report.
Peter Pinedo is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.
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