Attorneys for Kilmar Abrego Garcia filed a request Thursday asking a judge to impose a gag order on Attorney General Pam Bondi and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, saying their "barrage of prejudicial statements" threatens his right to a fair trial.
It's the third time attorneys for the illegal immigrant from El Salvador have complained about public comments from top officials in the Trump administration, Politico reported.
The filing was submitted to U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw in Nashville, Tennessee.
"Further intervention from the Court is necessary to protect Mr. Abrego's right to a fair trial and the integrity of these proceedings. The government's ongoing barrage of prejudicial statements severely threaten — and perhaps have already irrevocably impaired — the ability to try this case at all — in any venue," Abrego Garcia's attorneys wrote.
"If the government is allowed to continue in this way, it will taint any conceivable jury pool by exposing the entire country to irrelevant, prejudicial, and false claims about Mr. Abrego. The government's vitriolic statements also risk impeding the defense's ability to present its case through witnesses, who may well fear that they could be the next target of the government's public attacks should they take the stand," they added.
The Trump administration asserts that Abrego Garcia is a violent criminal and a member of the MS-13 gang. He denies the allegations.
In an interview with Newsmax on Monday, Noem did not mince words when discussing Abrego Garcia, who remains jailed after a judge blocked his deportation to Uganda.
"This man is a suspected terrorist known to affiliate and be friends with MS-13 members," Noem told Newsmax. "He's an extremely dangerous individual. A known wife-beater. This is someone that should never be free in the United States of America, and bringing him to justice is incredibly important to the safety of the American people."
A federal judge on Monday ordered that Abrego Garcia not be moved from a Virginia detention center to ensure he has access to counsel. Maryland District Judge Paula Xinis further ordered that he cannot be deported to Uganda until at least Oct. 6.
Abrego Garcia is facing a grand jury indictment on charges of human trafficking, to which he has pleaded not guilty.
"He's off the streets today … which means the American people are safe," Noem told Newsmax. "But we are really hoping that he will continue to face penalties for what he has done."
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.