The Tennessee Highway Patrol contacted The Tennessee Star on Thursday night to confirm its earlier reporting that Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the citizen of El Salvador who was deported last month by the Trump administration, was stopped by THP in 2022 but ordered to be released by the FBI.
A THP spokesman told The Star, “The Tennessee Highway Patrol can confirm a 2022 traffic stop of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, who was stopped for speeding on I-40.”
The spokesman then stated to The Star, “Per standard protocol, the THP contacted federal law enforcement authorities with the Biden-era FBI—the agency of jurisdiction—who made the decision not to detain him.”
FBI Director Christopher Wray meets with the U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee and local law enforcement partners at FBI Memphis’ Nashville Resident Agency in August 2024 / FBI
It is unclear why Putnam County, which is where sources told The Star that Abrego Garcia was stopped by THP in 2022, was then under the jurisdiction of the FBI.
Notably, THP did not state whether Abrego Garcia was suspected by THP officers of being engaged in human trafficking, as sources told The Star on Wednesday. Human trafficking is a federal offense under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000.
It also remains unclear why the FBI would tell THP to release Abrego Garcia, who was transporting seven passengers in a vehicle he did not own, was operating without a valid license, and was reportedly answering questions with additional questions in a bid to avoid responding to THP questions.
The FBI has yet to respond to a comment request from The Star, which sought to confirm the federal agency’s role in securing Abrego Garcia’s release in Tennessee.
Additionally, the Department of Homeland Security, whose documents were used by The Daily Caller to confirm the stop on Thursday, and by Just the News to corroborate many details of this story on Wednesday, has yet to respond to an inquiry from The Star.
It took more than 24 hours for THP to respond to the inquiry from The Star, and earlier on Thursday, the state agency told The Star that it would not answer a press inquiry until The Star took steps to comply with Tennessee open records law.
In a rare photo together with President Joe Biden, FBI Director Chris Wray attends a DOJ meeting in the Oval Office November 07, 2022. / White House
Michael Patrick Leahy, the Editor-in-Chief of The Star, has since filed a Public Records Request related to the stop, seeking dashboard and body camera video, photographs, police reports, and any other documents related to the 2022 stop of Abrego Garcia.
Often called a “Maryland man,” Abrego Garcia reportedly told police he illegally immigrated to the United States in March 2012. By 2019, two judges determined he is likely to be a member of the Central American gang, Mara Salvatrucha, but he denies this claim, and in 2019 was granted a “withholding of removal” order that prevented his deportation to El Salvador, but not to a third country.
The Trump administration deported Abrego Garcia last month, and both a U.S. District Court and the U.S. Supreme Court have said the government must take steps to facilitate his return in order for his immigration case to proceed in the United States.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].Photo “Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia” by Homeland Security and “FBI Director Chris Wray” by FBI.
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