The Tennessee Star has obtained a bodycam image from a December 2022 traffic stop of Salvadoran national Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an alleged MS-13 gang member accused of human trafficking.
The photo, never before released to the public, shows Abrego Garcia during a Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) stop in which the officer suspected he was trafficking seven individuals across state lines—from Texas to Maryland.
According to The Tennessee Star, citing law enforcement sources, the THP officer found Abrego Garcia driving a 2001 Chevrolet without a valid license.
After detaining him, the officer contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), which then instructed the troopers to release the suspect and his passengers.
The bodycam image, captured from the passenger side of the vehicle, shows Abrego Garcia in the driver’s seat, glancing toward the officer while one of the suspected smuggled passengers stares straight ahead.
Inside the vehicle: minimal personal belongings, only a plastic bag and water bottle visible—consistent with reports that this was not a family trip, but a criminal operation.
The Tennessee Star filed an Open Records Request with the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security (TDOSHS) seeking all body and dashcam footage, officer reports, and dispatch logs. The department has yet to formally acknowledge receipt of the request.
Multiple outlets have reported inconsistent dates for the stop—Just The News claimed it happened in November 2022, while The Daily Caller reported December 1. The Star’s sources insist it occurred on December 6, with bodycam video allegedly not uploaded until January 9, 2023.
The Gateway Pundit reported earlier:
According to the memo obtained by Fox News, Abrego Garcia was pulled over by Tennessee Highway Patrol trooper in 2022 for speeding and swerving.
The trooper saw eight people in the vehicle with Abrego Garcia who claimed he was driving to “perform construction work.”
The memo claims the trooper suspected Abrego Garcia of human trafficking because there was no luggage in the car. Additionally all individuals in the car gave the same address as Abrego Garcia.
But the news gets even worse. The Gateway Pundit reported yesterday that it turns out that not only was Abrego Garcia likely trafficking fellow human beings, but he was reportedly on a TERRORIST WATCH LIST at the time.
Yes, the Biden regime ordered the THP to let a possible terrorist walk free!
From The Tennessee Star:
One source told The Star that THP ultimately discovered Abrego Garcia was on a terrorist watch list, but could not locate Abrego Garcia on a deportation list. Another source told The Star that THP did not discover Abrego Garcia on a terrorist watch list but that another one of the seven passengers in the vehicle may have been on a terrorist watch list.
THP subsequently called the FBI, which was then led by former Director Christopher Wray under the Biden administration. The FBI instructed the THP officers at the scene to capture photographs of all eight people in the vehicle and document its contents.
Once the photographs were captured, this source told The Star that the FBI requested THP release all eight individuals and that the THP officers complied with this request.
Also, Abrego Garcia’s wife, per court documents, filed for an order of protection against him for domestic violence in 2021, showing that the individual is apparently not the upstanding Maryland Father of the Year Democrats make him out to be.
According to The Chesapeake Today, “Jennifer Vasquez filed for a protective order due to domestic violence from her husband on May 13, 2021, and a final order was issued on June 17, 2021, by Prince George’s County District Court Judge LaKeecia Allen. Judge Allen was elevated to the Circuit Court on Aug. 1, 2024, by Maryland Governor Wes Moore. Judge Allen previously served as a prosecutor in the Prince George’s State’s Attorney’s Office.”
Kilmar Abrego García was deported from the United States to El Salvador on March 15, 2025, after his affiliation with MS-13 was found to violate the terms of his U.S. residency.
The evidence cited by U.S. authorities stemmed from a 2019 immigration judge’s finding that García was affiliated with the MS-13 gang—a conclusion based on information provided by a confidential informant. The judge ruled that the informant’s testimony was sufficient to deny García’s bond request.
This immigration judge denied García’s asylum request because he did not file within one year of arriving in the United States, as required by U.S. immigration law.
However, the judge granted him “withholding of removal,” a narrower form of protection that prevented his deportation to El Salvador due to a credible fear of persecution from another gang. This status allowed him to live and work legally in the U.S. but did not provide a path to permanent residency or citizenship, unlike asylum.
In addition to being a violent transnational criminal organization, MS-13 was officially designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) by the United States in 2025. As a result, García is now classified as a terrorist, further invalidating his legal right to remain in the country.
The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) explicitly states that applicants are ineligible for “withholding of removal” if there are reasonable grounds to believe they have committed serious nonpolitical crimes or are a danger to the security of the United States, including through terrorism.
News outlets argue that Kilmar Abrego García should not have been deported because he was never charged with a crime. However, no criminal offense is necessary.
Gang affiliation—particularly with a violent transnational criminal or terrorist organization—is sufficient legal justification for deportation.
The post Bodycam Image Surfaces from 2022 Traffic Stop of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, Allegedly Trafficking Humans Across State Lines appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.