NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — On a cold day in 2022, Tennessee Highway Patrol pulled over a van with a number of other people inside. The driver was identified as Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland father whose deportation to El Salvador has garnered national attention.
The Salvadoran native reportedly fled to the United States when he was 16 and lived in Maryland for roughly 14 years, but he was deported in March to an El Salvador prison over a 2019 accusation that he was in the MS-13 gang.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia stopped for speeding: Police
Through a Freedom of Information Act request, NewsNation affiliate WKRN received a copy of the body camera footage dated Nov. 30, 2022, of the traffic stop, which the Department of Homeland Security previously said took place on Dec. 1, 2022, along Interstate 40 near Cookeville.
It began when a THP trooper stopped Abrego Garcia for speeding. As the trooper approached, he noticed very dark windows and Texas plates on the Suburban.
The trooper talked to Abrego Garcia, who was driving. A woman in the front seat never spoke or looked at the trooper.
Trooper: “How are you?”
Abrego Garcia: “Good, and you?”
Trooper: “Alright.”
Abrego Garcia: “Everything good?”
Trooper: “You got a bunch of people in here, don’t you?”
Abrego Garcia: “It’s one per seat.”
Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s Maryland license had expired: Police
At the time of the stop, Abrego Garcia was 27 years old. He spoke broken English but had little trouble communicating, telling the trooper he worked in St. Louis, Missouri, when prompted.
Despite Abrego Garcia saying his license was suspended, troopers discovered his Maryland license had only expired.
Trooper: “So where do y’all live at?”
Abrego Garcia: “Where am I living? I live in Maryland.”
The 27-year-old reported that all the people in the SUV were working construction in Missouri and headed to Maryland.
Police suspect Kilmar Abrego Garcia is human trafficker
When asked whose car he was driving, Abrego Garcia said it belonged to his boss. The trooper also inquired if anyone else had a driver’s license, but Abrego Garcia was the only one.
By this point, a second trooper had arrived at the scene. He suspected Abrego Garcia was a human trafficker.
“He’s getting paid to haul these people, probably to Maryland, I would say,” the second trooper said. “They don’t have any luggage in there, right? And if you get them out, they’re going to have tubes of toothpaste and they’re going to have toothbrushes in their pockets, I guarantee it.”
Abrego Garcia denied having any guns or weapons. As time passed, more law enforcement officers responded to the scene.
“He’s hauling people. He’s got eight or nine in there now, or nine or 10,” one trooper said. Another trooper added: “He’s getting paid to haul humans, is what he is doing.”
Tennessee Police contact FBI, Homeland Security during stop
Authorities asked about the number of seats in the SUV, with one trooper saying he’d never seen a Suburban with four rows of seats. Law enforcement also mentioned that Abrego Garcia had $1,400 in cash in an envelope in his pocket.
Near the end of the stop, troopers talked to other passengers. Not only was there an obvious language barrier, but nobody had IDs.
THP told WKRN they contacted both the FBI and Homeland Security during the stop. However, neither federal agency responded to the scene.
According to the Homeland Security report, since there were no violations or crimes committed, the vehicle and all its passengers were released. THP sent News 2 the following statement about the incident: “The THP complied fully with applicable law and coordinated with the appropriate federal authorities.”
Trump said he could bring Kilmar Abrego Garcia back
According to the Associated Press, police in Maryland identified Abrego Garcia as an MS-13 member based on his tattoos, clothing, and the word of a criminal informant, but his lawyers said the informant claimed Abrego Garcia was in an MS-13 chapter in New York, where he’s never lived.
The U.S. State Department designated MS-13, also known as Mara Salvatrucha, as a terrorist organization. According to officials, it was created by Salvadoran immigrants in the U.S. before it gained traction in Central America.
The Trump administration initially indicated in court documents that the deportation was due to an “administrative error.” Since then, both a federal judge and the Supreme Court have ruled that the administration must “facilitate” his return, with a federal appeals court declining to lift the federal judge’s order.
In an Oval Office interview with ABC News earlier this week, President Donald Trump acknowledged that he could call El Salvador’s president and have Abrego Garcia sent back, but then he said, “If he were the gentleman that you say he is, I would do that, but he’s not.”