Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a construction worker from Maryland, has said he is not guilty of human smuggling in a Tennessee federal court. His lawyers argue that these charges are an attempt to make his wrongful deportation to El Salvador in March seem right. The case began after the Supreme Court ordered his return because of increasing pressure. Abrego Garcia’s defense team questioned if the government witnesses were telling the truth, saying they helped in exchange for immigration benefits. The charges come from a 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee where Abrego Garcia was driving nine people, which made authorities think he was smuggling. Even so, he was allowed to leave with just a warning. Before the court hearing, U.S. attorneys said Abrego Garcia was a risk to the community and might run away, accusing him of selling drugs and weapons, and hurting women he drove. These charges led to the resignation of Ben Schrader, who was the former head of the criminal division at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee.