Tracking retaliatory use of arrests, prosecutions, and investigations by the Trump administration

Trump has repeatedly referred to Newsom as “Gavin Newscum”, calling him an “[I]ncompetent California ‘Leader[]’” and “‘Lame Duck’ Governor of a Failing State” with “INSANE POLICY DECISIONS.” President Trump has also posted that it is “unimaginable that he could run for President” and accused him of being “A Cognitive Mess!” After repeated targeted social media posts by Trump, Newsom then began to mock the President’s posting style, furthering the feud. When asked about the idea of arresting Newsom during the 2025 immigration enforcement surge in California, President Trump even went as far as saying “I’d do it if I were Tom [Homan],” adding, “Gavin likes the publicity, but I think it would be a great thing.”

Newsom is widely viewed as one of the more prominent leaders of the political opposition to the Trump administration. For example, Newsom successfully lobbied voters to adopt a statewide measure to redraw congressional districts in an attempt to counter similar acts by the GOP.

The information currently available about the investigation and the nature of the allegations is insufficient for an assessment of their validity. The investigation is reportedly led by the Sacramento-based U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California. In July 2025, Trump fired the acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California, Michele Beckwith, just hours after she told Greg Bovino that a court order prevented him from using certain immigration enforcement tactics and Pam Bondi appointed Eric Grant as interim (now formally) U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California.

Hoffman has long been a target of Trump’s rhetoric. During the E. Jean Carroll trial, Trump included Hoffman in a list of “the Democrat System of Thugs” that “funded and conceived” “the Hoax” even referring to him as “Piglet Reid Hoffman, a major Democrat Donor who is funding this Witch Hunt.” Trump called Hoffman a “Democrat operative” and called on DOJ to investigate Hoffman’s alleged ties to Jeffrey Epstein.

It is typically not illegal for an outside group to fund a lawsuit and it is done very frequently without resulting in a federal criminal investigation. For example, John Whitehead, founder and president of the conservative-leaning public interest firm The Rutherford Institute, helped to fund Paula Jones’ sexual harassment lawsuit against president Bill Clinton.

In May 2023, Hoffman stated that “we didn’t encourage the lawsuit to happen, we only got on board after she’d already filed.” Two separate juries found Trump liable in the suits brought by Carroll, with one finding him liable for sexual abuse and defamation and the other finding him liable for a subsequent act of defamation. Trump’s appeals have thus far been unsuccessful. The investigation is alleged to be led by the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, Andrew Boutros, whose office was under fire for mishandling a grand jury in the ‘Broadview Six’ case just weeks before the alleged investigation into the funding of Carroll’s lawsuit was announced.

The Southern Poverty Law Center (“SPLC”) partnered with federal law enforcement agencies for decades on efforts to monitor and mitigate hate crimes and domestic terrorism. But in October 2025, FBI Director Kash Patel criticized the SPLC as a “partisan smear machine” and announced that the FBI was severing ties with the organization and would no longer accept or use intelligence and data from the SPLC. Director Patel further claimed that the SPLC had a “disgraceful record” and that its research identifying hate groups “has been used to defame mainstream Americans.” This announcement was made two days after the SPLC criticized the Trump Administration for ending federal funding for hate crime prevention and amidst the Administration’s broader effort to roll back civil rights enforcement and increase focus on “reverse discrimination.” In December 2025, Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) convened a House Judiciary hearing focused exclusively on the SPLC, titled “Partisan and Profitable: The SPLC’s Influence on Federal Civil Rights Policy.” The hearing featured extensive criticisms by Rep. Roy, other Republican members of the committee, and their witnesses that SPLC’s advocacy unfairly targeted conservative groups and that its collaboration with federal law enforcement harmed those groups as well. In an unaired video clip from the April 26 filming of a 60 minutes interview, President Trump stated that the SPLC was “financing the KKK and lots of other radical, terrible groups” and that the alleged funding of far right groups “was done to make [him] look bad.”

The tactics forming the basis of the indictment – financial payments to informants to procure sensitive intelligence about the inner workings of groups engaged in suspected criminal activity – appear to be similar to tactics long-employed by the FBI and other federal law enforcement agencies.

The SPLC had been providing federal law enforcement with information on hate groups for decades, including intelligence gathered from SPLC’s informants, according to public reporting.

After watching footage of the protest, but before a criminal complaint was filed, President Trump asserted that “these people are professionals” that are “highly trained to scream, rant, and rave, like lunatics, in a certain manner, just like they are doing” before saying that “they are troublemakers who should be thrown in jail, or thrown out of the Country.” Trump has repeatedly referred to Don Lemon as “the dumbest man on television.” The White House also digitally manipulated an image of Armstrong’s arrest, altering her appearance and falsely suggesting she was crying during her arrest, and posted the picture on their social media accounts.

Nekima Armstrong claimed that, prior to the protest, she worked with her attorney to prepare to turn herself in should an arrest warrant later be issued. Armstrong’s attorney reported that Justice Department officials refused to allow Armstrong to turn herself in, instead demanding an arrest in a public setting. Don Lemon also stated that his lawyer reached out to federal authorities with a customary offer to turn himself in but that he “never heard back from them” before being publicly arrested. Standard procedure for nonviolent crimes that do not involve a known flight risk is to issue a summons unless there is an urgent threat, but Armstrong and Lemon were not afforded that standard courtesy and instead were publicly arrested.

Upon the judge’s issuance of routine release orders, prosecutors appealed, an unusual move typically reserved for defendants who are accused of violent or other serious crimes or pose a risk of fleeing prosecution. Don Lemon and Georgia Fort were present at the church in a journalist capacity, a status which is typically protected by the First Amendment’s freedom of the press.

During an initial appearance for Armstrong, Allen, and Kelly, the judge noted after reading the warrants that the government failed to show probable cause for one of the charges listed in its initial charging documents that had accused the defendants of violating the FACE Act. The judge further refused to sign off on five additional arrest warrants presented to him due to lack of sufficient probable cause, including for Don Lemon. The Eighth Circuit affirmed this ruling, denying the government’s emergency writ of mandamus.

Before the investigation even began, President Trump threatened Minnesota Democrats with a “[DAY OF RECKONING & RETRIBUTION]”(https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115888070937502023) and Todd Blanche, the deputy attorney general, publicly accused Mayor Frey and Gov. Walz of “encouraging violence against law enforcement” and referred to their actions as “terrorism.”

After the shooting of Renee Good by an ICE agent, Minneapolis became a symbol of pushing back on the administration’s immigration enforcement. Each of the subpoenaed individuals have been outspoken against the administration’s tactics. The Minnesota officials sued the administration to block the Department of Homeland Security from executing a planned surge of federal immigration officers to the Twin Cities. Federal investigators did not cooperate with local officials when investigating the shooting, prejudged Ms. Good’s actions, and ultimately decided to not investigate the shooter, Jonathan Ross, despite a longstanding practice of comprehensive DOJ reviews of death-resulting uses of force by law enforcement officers.

Rather than announcing charges against Jonathan Ross, the DOJ reportedly pushed internally for an investigation into Renee Good’s wife. Once this was announced internally, six Minnesota prosecutors resigned from their position. In the ruling quashing the subpoenas, Judge Schiltz wrote that “[i]nitiating a criminal investigation in order to harass political opponents or to coerce them into taking official action — particularly official action that the federal government cannot directly require those political opponents to take — is a blatantly unlawful and unethical use the grand-jury process.”

In addition to Senator Kelly, these five Democratic members of Congress who had either served in the military or worked in the intelligence community appeared in a video. The video advises military members that they are not required to follow unlawful orders. President Trump responded to the video by suggesting that the people in it had engaged in “sedition” and that they should be jailed or possibly executed. “Each one of these traitors to our Country should be ARRESTED AND PUT ON TRIAL. Their words cannot be allowed to stand,” Trump wrote. He also re-posted a call to “Hang them.” Defense Secretary Hegseth called the video “despicable, reckless, and false,” and referred to the lawmakers as “the Seditious Six.”

Military Justice experts have advised that retired servicemembers are not typically recalled to face punishment for actions committed after their retirement. Furthermore, their comments mirror information active duty soldiers are given in training.

President Trump has made many public statements about Jerome Powell, saying that he has “mental problems” and that he would love to “fire his ass” for refusing to heed the president’s demand to lower interest rates. However, the president does not have the power to fire a member of the board of an independent federal agency except “for cause.”

Since taking office, Trump has repeatedly attempted to target leaders of independent agencies who he disagrees with, including leaders at the Federal Trade Commission, National Labor Relations Board, and Lisa Cook of the Federal Reserve Board.

Top bipartisan leaders are speaking out against the investigation into Powell, with one saying that it “could undermine this and future administrations’ ability to make sound monetary policy decisions.” Republican Senator Dave McCormick stated that “the Federal Reserve renovation may well have wasted taxpayer dollars, but the proper place to fix this is through Congressional oversight.” Thom Tillis, Republican member of the Senate Banking Committee even went as far to say “if there were any remaining doubt whether advisers within the Trump Administration are actively pushing to end the independence of the Federal Reserve, there should now be none. It is now the independence and credibility of the Department of Justice that are in question.” Tillis further stated that he “will oppose the confirmation of any nominee for the Fed—including the upcoming Fed Chair vacancy—until this legal matter is fully resolved.” In his opinion to quash the subpoenas against the Federal Reserve, Judge Boasberg opined that “there is abundant evidence that the subpoenas’ dominant (if not sole) purpose is to harass and pressure Powell either to yield to the President or to resign and make way for a Fed Chair who will.”

Kelly, a Democratic Senator from Arizona, appeared in a video with other Democratic members of Congress who had either served in the military or worked in the intelligence community. The video advises military members that they are not required to follow unlawful orders. Sen. Kelly had previously expressed concern about legal exposure for troops involved in strikes on boats in the Caribbean. President Trump responded to the video by suggesting that the people in it had engaged in “sedition” and that they should be jailed or possibly executed. “Each one of these traitors to our Country should be ARRESTED AND PUT ON TRIAL. Their words cannot be allowed to stand,” Trump wrote. He also re-posted a call to “Hang them.” Defense Secretary Hegseth called the video “despicable, reckless, and false,” and referred to the lawmakers as “the Seditious Six.”

Military Justice experts have advised that retired servicemembers are not typically recalled to face punishment for actions committed after their retirement. Furthermore, Kelly’s comments mirror information active duty soldiers are given in training.

On September 25, 2025, President Trump issued National Security Presidential Memorandum 7, intended to address domestic terrorism and organized political violence. DOJ reportedly “began establishing an internal architecture to prosecute protesters with left-leaning views” in response.

Abughazaleh had been frequently protesting at the Broadview ICE facility and was filmed being pushed by federal agents. She used that footage in her ad campaign and has continuously spoken out against the Trump administration. The indictment also charged five other people, including two other political candidates and a local community trustee who were all outspoken protesters.

On February 26, 2026 the federal prosecutors in Chicago announced in court that they intended to narrow the conspiracy charges against the six defendants. On March 12, 2026, prosecutors dropped the charges against two of the six defendants. Judge April Perry ordered prosecutors to bring unredacted grand jury transcripts to the hearing for in camera review, however, according to reporting “once the feds revealed their plans to drop the conspiracy charge — and move on from the panel’s indictment altogether — the judge decided she no longer needed to see the transcripts.” However, as the trial proceeded, the grand jury transcripts were in play once again. According to further reporting, the prosecutors provided Judge Perry with redacted transcripts. At a May 21st hearing, prosecutors revealed apparent misconduct before the grand jury. Reporting indicates that the alleged misconduct ranged from “vouching” – suggesting that a prosecutor assured grand jurors the case wouldn’t have been brought if it wasn’t just” to a prosecutor allegedly having “a conversation with a grand juror outside the jury room.” Reporting also indicates that the prosecutors may have even prevented “grand jurors who disagreed with the case” from participating further.

Bolton has been an outspoken critic of President Trump since he served in the first Trump Administration and wrote a book documenting his time in the White House. Bolton was included in Kash Patel’s “enemies list.” Both President Trump and Vice President Vance made public comments about the investigation phase while acknowledging they themselves did not actually know the reason for the investigation.

In March 2025, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and other administration officials leaked classified war plans to a journalist via Signal. There have been no publicly available charges or investigations into this action.

President Trump posted on Truth Social calling for Cook’s resignation, before the Justice Department had even started an investigation. Ms. Cook is one of three Biden appointees on the Fed, an agency that Trump has been publicly targeting. The Trump administration has attempted to fire Cook while the investigation is ongoing. A district court judge reinstated Ms. Cook. The administration appealed the case to the Supreme Court, which declined to stay the decision, and allowed Ms. Cook to remain in her position at least until a hearing in January 2026. Cook remains in her position while the Supreme Court deliberates.

While the administration publicly accused Cook before even indicting her, it has yet to produce any evidence of fraudulent intent. Several sources have found that two Trump administration officials, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer made the same alleged error, yet they are not facing prosecution.

Before the investigation even began, President Trump posted on Truth Social alleging fraud. He later posted on Truth Social an apparent demand that Pam Bondi prosecute Sen. Schiff, saying he was “guilty as hell.” It has been reported that prosecutors “have been hesitant to proceed with charges against” Sen. Schiff because the investigation has “not produced enough evidence to bring charges.” When asked about this new report Trump replied that he was “not going to comment on that” but stated that “Adam Schiff is one of the lowest forms of scum I’ve ever dealt with in politics” and that “he’s a horrible human being, very dishonest person.”

Sen. Schiff has been the target of Trump’s attacks for nine years now. In 2024 he became a household name after serving on the January 6th committee and wears the attacks by the administration as a “badge of honor.”

Sen. Schiff had already been investigated during Trump’s first term for the alleged leak of classified information, but federal prosecutors found the staffer who made the accusation lacked credibility. The mortgage fraud investigations into Adam Schiff and Letitia James, led by Ed Martin and Bill Pulte, were reportedly under investigation by the DOJ for potential misconduct.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has made statements about being glad to see the investigation into “corruption at the highest level” and “the deep state” attacks on Trump, with no evidence to support these statements. Trump made statements about them being “dishonest people.”

Criminal investigation of a high-level federal employee for actions taken in the scope of their office is highly unusual, particularly in cases, like this one, that resulted in prosecutions and convictions. In this instance, there were already two Trump-instigated investigations of the conduct of the 2016 Russia investigation, one by the DOJ inspector general and one by Special Counsel John Durham. Neither of those investigations disclosed criminal wrongdoing by Comey, including with respect to the making of false statements that are the apparent subject of the indictment. Durham’s investigation resulted in one guilty plea by an FBI attorney based on the alteration of search warrant application and two jury acquittals.

While no charges have yet been sought or filed that would permit grand jury or judicial review, in addition to the investigations noted above, the bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee conducted an extensive investigation that concluded that Russia did, in fact, interfere in the 2016 election for the purpose of helping Trump’s candidacy, which was the same conclusion reached in the investigation conducted by the FBI and Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has made statements about being glad to see the investigation into “corruption at the highest level” and “the deep state” attacks on Trump, with no evidence to support these statements. Trump made statements about them being “dishonest people.” President Trump posted on Truth Social seemingly demanding that Pam Bondi prosecute Comey and saying Comey was “guilty as hell.” Just after Comey’s indictment was announced, President Trump took to Truth Social to state that Comey is “one of the worst human beings the Country has ever been exposed to” calling him “James ‘Dirty Cop’ Comey” while loudly alleging that “HE LIED!’ During an interview with 60 Minutes President Trump once again called Comey a “dirty cop” and when asked about his Truth Social post that seemingly called for Pam Bondi to prosecute, he said he did not “have to instruct [Pam Bondi and Kash Patel], because [Comey and Letitia James] were so dirty, they were so crooked, they were so corrupt” that prosecutors did it on their own.

Criminal investigation of a high-level federal employee for actions taken in the scope of their office is highly unusual, particularly in cases, like this one, that resulted in prosecutions and convictions. In this instance, there were already two Trump-instigated investigations of the conduct of the 2016 Russia investigation, one by the DOJ inspector general and one by Special Counsel John Durham. Neither of those investigations disclosed criminal wrongdoing by Comey, including with respect to the making of false statements that are the apparent subject of the indictment. Durham’s investigation resulted in one guilty plea by an FBI attorney based on the alteration of search warrant application and two jury acquittals. Conservative commentator Jack Posobiec posted “86 46” in January 2022. No publicly known criminal action was taken against him. Republican Matt Gaetz posted a caption stating “we’ve now 86’d: McCarthy, McDaniel, McConnell. Better days are ahead for the Republican Party.” And many online apparel shops sold clothing adorned with 8646, and once again, no publicly known criminal action has been taken.

The bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee conducted an extensive investigation that concluded that Russia did, in fact, interfere in the 2016 election for the purpose of helping Trump’s candidacy, which was the same conclusion reached in the investigation conducted by the FBI and Special Counsel Robert Mueller. It has been reported that after a two month investigation, prosecutors in Virginia sent a memo to the newly appointed U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Lindsey Halligan, summarizing their findings that no probable cause exists to secure an indictment. Additionally, it has been reported that Pam Bondi had concerns about a case being brought against Comey. The grand jury rejected one of the three charges presented to it. A bipartisan group of 42 retired judges wrote a statement condemning the prosecution of Comey. After a court hearing assessing whether to dismiss the indictments based on unlawful appointment, the judge detailed “a disturbing pattern of profound investigative missteps” and potential prosecutorial misconduct that undermined “the integrity of the grand jury proceeding.” Days later in a hearing on whether to dismiss the indictment based on selective and vindictive prosecution, Lindsey Halligan admitted that she had not presented the final version of the grand jury indictment in Mr. Comey’s grand jury proceeding.

DHS put out a press release calling Lander a “politician[] pulling a stunt in attempt to get their 15 minutes of fame” while detailing “facts” of the situation.

Lander had participated in court watching two times before the June 17th incident. He was arrested after asking to see a judicial warrant. Several others were court-watching with Lander and were not arrested.

No charges were filed after his first arrest. U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton admitted that the memorandum entitled Civil Immigration Enforcement Actions in or Near Courthouses, dated May 27, 2025 “does not and has never applied to civil immigration enforcement actions in or near Executive Office for Immigration Review (“EOIR”) immigration courts.” That memo was used as the basis for Lander’s arrest.

Sen. Padilla was asking a question of a government official while identifying himself as a U.S. Senator, and there was no allegation of violence.

Sen. Padilla was released without charges.

Huerta is being prosecuted by acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli’s office, which has been forced to dismiss numerous cases because of faulty or fabricated allegations. Four different colleagues reported hearing Essayli shout “F*** the Justice Manual”– the rulebook used to preserve the integrity of investigations. On October 28, 2025 a federal judge disqualified Mr. Essayli from acting as the U.S. Attorney for unlawfully assuming the role of Acting United States Attorney based on several factors that culminated in the illegality of his purported appointment.

Huerta is the president of the largest labor union in the country. He was participating in a nonviolent act of resistance and had to be hospitalized as a result of his violent arrest.

Ed Martin, special attorney and former director of the Weaponization Working Group sent Ms. James’ attorney a letter stating he would take James’ resignation “as an act of good faith,” even though she had yet to be indicted on any charges. James prosecuted and won a case against Trump for defrauding banks and lenders, resulting in a significant judgment. President Trump has accused James of political motivation in her prosecutions. Donald Trump posted on Truth Social seemingly demanding Pam Bondi to prosecute Ms. James and saying she was “guilty as hell.” Lindsey Halligan, the U.S. Attorney on the case at the time, reportedly reached out to a journalist to criticize press coverage of the indictment and may have improperly revealed internal government information. During an interview of President Trump on 60 minutes, when asked about his Truth Social post that seemingly called for Pam Bondi to prosecute, Trump said he did not “have to instruct [Pam Bondi and Kash Patel], because [Comey and Letitia James] were so dirty, they were so crooked, they were so corrupt” that prosecutors did it on their own.

News reports indicate that the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia (EDVA), Erik Siebert, refused to pursue a case against James and subsequently resigned. President Trump stated on Truth Social that he fired the U.S. Attorney. A career prosecutor for EDVA determined there was not probable cause to file charges against James. Just days later, Lindsey Halligan, the new U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, presented the case to the grand jury, which is outside of standard practice. After a court hearing assessing whether the subsequent indictment should be dismissed based on Halligan’s unlawful appointment, the judge detailed “a disturbing pattern of profound investigative missteps” and potential prosecutorial misconduct that undermined “the integrity of the grand jury proceeding.” On November 24, 2025, the judge dismissed the indictment against James without prejudice on the ground that US Attorney Lindsey Halligan’s appointment was unlawful. In addition, the mortgage fraud investigations into Adam Schiff and Letitia James, led by Ed Martin and Bill Pulte, were reportedly under investigation by the DOJ for potential misconduct. Federal grand juries in both Norfolk and Alexandria declined to indict James after her initial indictment was dismissed.

Charged by former senior advisor and legal spokesperson to President Trump and former interim U.S. Attorney, Alina Habba, who was reprimanded by a federal judge for the hasty arrest of Ras Baraka. President Trump publicly commented on the evidence, describing the Congresswoman’s conduct as “shoving,” “out of control,” and the “kind of crap” that is “over in this country.” DHS put out several statements about Rep. McIver’s arrest, one accusing her of being a “gutter politician.” Rep. McIver’s legal team alleges that these statements are inappropriate “extrajudicial statements.” DHS removed many of the posts in question after the Judge in her case asked prosecutors to remove statements out of concern they would taint a jury pool.

Rep. McIver asserted that she was engaging in congressional oversight to inspect the conditions of an ICE facility. DOJ did not allege that anyone was injured as a result of McIver’s actions.

Newly released body camera evidence submitted in LaMonica McIver’s federal court case revealed a special agent saying “We are arresting the mayor right now, per the deputy attorney general of the United States. Anyone that gets in our way, I need you guys to give me a perimeter so I can cuff him.”

Baraka was an outspoken critic of conditions in ICE detention facilities as part of campaign for NJ Governor. Upon hearing the prosecutors’ decision to drop the federal trespassing charge, U.S. Magistrate Judge André Espinosa, assigned to Mayor Baraka’s case, told the prosecutor “an arrest, particularly of a public figure, is not a preliminary investigative tool. It is a severe action, carrying significant reputational and personal consequences, and it should only be undertaken after a thorough, dispassionate evaluation of credible evidence.”

The charges against Baraka have been dropped. Baraka countersued Alina Habba arguing that Alina Habba acted with politically motivated malice, unlawfully arrested and prosecuted him, and then publicly defamed him. That case is ongoing.

Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel both issued public statements suggesting that this arrest serves as a threat towards anyone protecting immigrants and that “[the U.S. DOJ] will come after you and we will prosecute you. We will find you.“

Judge Dugan was arrested a week after the alleged incident occurred. Standard procedure for nonviolent crimes that do not involve a known flight risk is to issue a summons unless there is an urgent threat, however Judge Dugan was not afforded that standard courtesy and instead was forcibly and publicly arrested. A bipartisan group of over 150 former federal and state judges penned a letter criticizing this and the Trump Administration’s greater attacks on the judiciary.

As CISA Director, Krebs played a role in correcting disinformation about 2020 election fraud alleged by President Trump. President Trump fired Krebs via Twitter. Krebs has since been an outspoken critic of President Trump and his administration.

There is no public evidence that Krebs committed a federal crime.

Miles Taylor was the anonymous author of a statement warning the public about President Trump’s official behavior during his first term. He has since come forward as an outspoken critic of President Trump and his administration. Taylor was subsequently named on Kash Patel’s “enemy list.”

There is no public evidence that Taylor committed a federal crime.

President Trump made numerous false public statements about Abrego Garcia’s criminality. Abrego Garcia has been used as the face of Trump’s deportation policy and public opposition to it. Erez Reuveni, then the career Director of the Office of Immigration Litigation, acknowledged in a court hearing that deporting Kilmar Abrego Garcia to El Salvador was an error. He was then fired. Reuveni later told the Senate Judiciary Committee that senior DOJ leadership had purposely deceived the courts and expected career staff to do the same – or else.

There is no evidence that Abrego Garcia was investigated for human smuggling or trafficking before his removal.

A Magistrate Judge in Tennessee cast doubt on the charges against Abrego Garcia, and the government’s claim that he is a dangerous criminal and sexual predator. In a judicial opinion issued in Abrego Garcia’s Tennessee case, a District Court judge wrote that the “timeline suggests that Abrego’s prosecution may stem from retaliation by the DOJ and DHS due to Abrego’s successful challenge of his unlawful deportation in Maryland” and granted discovery on the basis of potential vindictive prosecution. District Court Judge Crenshaw wrote that the public statements made by the government and government officials “are troubling, especially where many of them are exaggerated if not simply inaccurate.” Newly unsealed material reveals that “the government’s documents may contradict its prior representations that the decision to prosecute was made locally and that there were no outside influences.” The judge then put the onus on the government to prove that it was not engaged in a vindictive and selective prosecution, and ultimately, ruled in favor of Abrego Garcia, finding that the indictment was selective and vindictive.