The Department of Homeland Security is accusing the media of continuing to "peddle" a "sob story" in connection with deportee Kilmar Abrego Garcia's legal complaint concerning his claims of "graphic torture and abuse" he allegedly suffered after he was deported to El Salvador's CECOT maximum security prison.
"Once again the media is falling all over themselves to defend Kilmar Abrego Garcia," DHS posted on X Thursday, along with a screen grab from a Politico headline about his claims.
"This illegal alien is an MS-13 gang member, alleged human trafficker, and a domestic abuser. The media's sympathetic narrative about this criminal illegal gang member has completely fallen apart, yet they continue to peddle his sob story," the DHS post added. "We hear far too much about gang members and criminals' false sob stories and not enough about their victims."
Abrego Garcia was removed from the U.S. and sent to El Salvador, despite a court order in place to block his deportation.
His lawyers said that while at the CECOT prison, Abrego Garcia was beaten, deprived of food and sleep, and tortured psychologically for almost a month.
He is now back in U.S. custody and has pleaded not guilty to a federal indictment on charges of smuggling migrants.
According to the complaint filed by Abrego Garcia, who had been living in Maryland with his American wife and their children before being deported to El Salvador in March, he was "frogmarched" into the prison, hit with batons, and made to change into his prison garb while being under assault, reports Mediaite.
The complaint further describes his cell there as being overcrowded, windowless, and fully lit all day and night. It also says Abrego Garcia was forced to kneel for hours at a time, beaten when he moved, and denied access to a toilet.
"Screams from nearby cells would similarly ring out throughout the night," the complaint reads.
CECOT officials reportedly acknowledged Abrego Garcia had no gang affiliations but that they kept him locked up with gang members.
The complaint states that after Abrego Garcia lost 31 pounds, he was moved to a new unit and that "staged" pictures were taken to suggest that his conditions had improved.
He was also kept from speaking to family or lawyers for several weeks before his visit from Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., in April.
New York Times columnist David French described the allegations as being "horrific."
"If this was an American prison it would violate the 8th Amendment," he wrote on X. "This is absolutely cruel and unusual punishment. Nobody should try to rationalize or justify this kind of treatment."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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