Federal judge threatens Bondi, Noem with sanctions over Abrego Garcia comments

A federal judge in Tennessee is threatening Attorney General Pam Bondi, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem and other Department of Justice and DHS employees with sanctions if they make any prejudicial statements about Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia's criminal case.

U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw, who is overseeing the case, wrote in a filing Monday that, "DOJ and DHS employees who fail to comply with the requirement to refrain from making any statement that 'will have a substantial likelihood of materially prejudicing' this criminal prosecution may be subject to sanctions."

Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national deported earlier this year before being returned to the U.S., is facing federal charges of human smuggling and conspiracy. Bondi has described him as a full-time smuggler who made more than 100 trips transporting women, children and MS-13 gang-affiliated persons throughout the U.S.

"The high-profile nature of his immigration case resulted in government officials and those supportive of Abrego regularly commenting to the media. Now that he has been indicted in this District, Abrego asks the Court to freeze extra-judicial comments to ensure his Constitutional right to an impartial jury," Crenshaw wrote in a memorandum opinion.

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In that filing, the judge wrote, "Media attention about Abrego started in March 2025 when the United States sent him to El Salvador, months before his indictment in the Middle District of Tennessee."

"Government employees have made extrajudicial statements that are troubling, especially where many of them are exaggerated if not simply inaccurate. These statements made allegations regarding Abrego's 'character or reputation' and expressed government officials' views on Abrego's 'guilt or innocence,'" the judge said.

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The judge continued, "For example, the DHS Secretary stated that Abrego is a 'MS-13 gang member, human trafficker, serial domestic abuser, and child predator'... Similarly, on June 6, 2025, the Attorney General stated that Abrego played 'a significant role in an alien smuggling ring … [that] this was his full-time job, not a contractor … [that] [h]e was a smuggler of humans and children and women … [and that] [h]e made over 100 trips.'"

Crenshaw also declared the Trump Cabinet members were in violation of a local court rule limiting remarks from government officials relating to an active criminal case, although he stopped short of issuing a gag order, according to Politico.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Justice Department and Homeland Security for comment.

Fox News Digital's Jasmine Baehr contributed to this report.