Judge to hear arguments over whether Kilmar Abrego Garcia is being vindictively prosecuted
Kilmar Abrego Garcia (R) and his wife Jennifer Vasquez Sura (L) attend a prayer vigil before he enters a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) field office on August 25, 2025 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — A federal judge in Tennessee will hear arguments Thursday over whether the government is being vindictive in pursuing a human smuggling case against Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
The hearing comes after the judge, Waverly Crenshaw Jr., canceled the trial in the case in December and wrote in a court order that there was enough evidence to hold a hearing on the question of vindictive prosecution.
The government is currently blocked from deporting Abrego Garcia, who was released from immigration detention in December. In a separate case last week, a federal judge ruled that Immigration and Customs Enforcement cannot re-detain him because his 90-day detention period had expired and the government lacked a viable plan for his deportation.
The Salvadoran native, who had been living in Maryland with his wife and children, was deported in March to El Salvador’s CECOT mega-prison — despite a 2019 court order barring his deportation to that country due to fear of persecution. The Trump administration claimed he was a member of the criminal gang MS-13, which he and his attorneys deny.
He was brought back to the U.S. in June to face human smuggling charges in Tennessee, to which he pleaded not guilty.
After being released into the custody of his brother in Maryland pending trial, he was again detained by immigration authorities before being released in December.
Printed documents available at Epstein Library on the U.S. Department of Justice website are seen in this illustration photo taken in Krakow, Poland on February 6, 2026. (Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — The Department of Justice on Thursday released three previously withheld FBI interview reports from 2019 related to a woman who made uncorroborated allegations that she was abused by Donald Trump in the 1980s, when she was a minor.
In a statement on social media, the Department of Justice said the interview summaries — known as FBI 302 reports — were initially withheld from the January release of millions of pages of DOJ documents related to Jeffrey Epstein because they were believed to be duplicative of other documents.
“What we found through extensive review is that a published 302 — additionally disclosed in a published spreadsheet — had subsequent 302s that were coded as ‘duplicative.’ After this was brought to our attention, we reviewed the entire batch with the similar coding and discovered 15 documents were incorrectly coded as duplicative,” the DOJ account said.
The statement did not appear to explain why, beyond possible human error, the records were marked as duplicative. As of Thursday evening, the DOJ database still does not include the handwritten notes from the interviews themselves.
According to the reports, the FBI interviewed the woman four times between July and October 2019. During each of the interviews with the woman, whose identity is redacted, she made allegations of abuse against Epstein.
In her second interview with federal investigators, she claimed that Epstein once took her to either New York or New Jersey where he introduced to Trump when she was between the ages of 13 and 15 years old. According to the report, she claimed Trump abused her during that trip.
In the fourth interview in October 2019, the woman declined to provide additional details about the alleged interaction with Trump when asked by agents, according to the summary of that interview.
Her statements to the federal agents allege that the incident with Trump took place in the early-to-mid 1980s — a period when Epstein and Trump did not appear to be in contact.
Trump has denied any wrongdoing related to his relationship with Epstein or any knowledge of Epstein’s criminal activity.
In her initial interview with the FBI, the woman claims she was sexually abused by Epstein after being hired for what she thought was a babysitting job, but she said there were no children present. Similar abuse occurred, she said, on several more occasions, according to the summary of the first report, which was released by the DOJ in January.
The witness said multiple alleged incidents with Epstein took place in South Carolina, a location not known to have been frequented by Epstein. The timing of the allegations would place them two decades before law enforcement in Florida began investigating Epstein for sexual exploitation of minors.
Before the additional records were released Thursday, Congressional Democrats had accused the Justice Department of illegally withholding the documents to protect the president.
“It is unconscionable, it is illegal, and [Attorney General] Pam Bondi and the president need to answer where those files are,” California Democrat Robert Garcia, D-Calif. said last week.
In a statement in January, the Department of Justice said that some investigative files in the massive tranche released would include unsubstantiated claims about Trump.
“Some of the documents contain untrue and sensationalist claims against President Trump that were submitted to the FBI right before the 2020 election. To be clear, the claims are unfounded and false, and if they have a shred of credibility, they certainly would have been weaponized against President Trump already,” the statement said.
Right-wing influencer Jake Lang walks with a goat and supporters at a protest organized by the influencer on March 7, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Ryan Murphy/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Police arrested four people after a smoke-generating “suspicious device” was thrown during a protest at the New York City mayor’s residence Saturday.
It was not immediately known if Mayor Zohran Mamdani or his wife, Rama Duwaji, were inside Gracie Mansion at the time. Mamdani had no public events announced but was in the city, according to his public schedule released Friday night.
Police sources told ABC News that the anti-Muslim protest was organized by a “known agitator.”
The NYPD bomb squad was investigating if the device was a smoke bomb, after some smoke started coming out of the device before the crowd was moved back, sources said.
No injuries were reported during the incident.
The mayor’s office did not immediately return messages to ABC News for comment.
Two unidentified people arrested were accused of throwing a suspicious device, police sources said.
One person was arrested for disorderly conduct and another person was arrested for deploying pepper spray, according to sources.
Australian-born presenter, Savannah Guthrie poses alongside her mother Nancy Guthrie during a production break whilst hosting NBC’s “Today Show” live from Australia at Sydney Opera House on May 4, 2015 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Don Arnold/WireImage)
(NEW YORK) — “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie announced on Tuesday a new $1 million reward for the recovery of her mom, Nancy Guthrie, who has been missing since Feb. 1.
The combined reward between the family and law enforcement now stands at $1.2 million.
Sources familiar with the family’s decision told ABC News the family was prepared to fund the reward from the start but waited until now because they were initially advised against it.
Separately, the Guthrie family is donating $500,000 to the Center for Missing and Exploited Children to shine a light on other missing persons cases.
Nancy Guthrie, 84, was abducted from her Tucson, Arizona, home by an unknown suspect in the early hours of Sunday, Feb. 1.
“Every hour and minute and second and every long night has been agony,” Savannah Guthrie said in her Tuesday morning Instagram post.
“We still believe in a miracle,” Savannah Guthrie said. “We also know she may be lost. She may be gone.”
Savannah Guthrie said in the video that her mom may be “dancing in heaven,” and “If this is what is to be, then we will accept it. But we need to know where she is.”
“Somebody knows,” Savannah Guthrie said. “And we are begging you to come forward now.”
Savannah Guthrie wrote in the caption that anyone with information can anonymously call the FBI or “reach out to me.”
The FBI has released photos and videos of the unknown armed suspect in front of Nancy Guthrie’s home, appearing to tamper with a security camera.
The FBI in Phoenix said in a statement on Tuesday, “If you have firsthand knowledge of Nancy’s whereabouts or any information about where she may be located, please contact the FBI tip line at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324).”
“To help keep the tip line available for actionable investigative law enforcement leads, please submit only serious and detailed fact-based information – no well-wishes or case theories,” the FBI added. “The tip line is not for personal messages to the Guthrie family.”
Anyone with information is urged to call 911, the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI, or the Pima County Sheriff’s Department at 520-351-4900.
