Kilmar Abrego Garcia arraignment in Nashville
Jun 13, 2025 | 12:45 pm ET
Description
Jennifer Vasquez Sura, wife of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, held a press conference with supporters in Nashville June 13, 2025. (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)
Wife of Abrego Garcia shares message from him: “‘God has put us in this path together for a reason.'”
Hundreds protest Trump administration’s immigration actions, call for abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Around 300 people railed against President Trump’s immigration policies and demanded due process for Kilmar Abrego Garcia outside the federal courthouse in Nashville Friday as he went through a detention hearing inside the building.
Speakers also called for the abolition of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement bureau, which has conducted immigrant sweeps in large cities across the country, including Nashville.
Ian Montgomery, a member of United Volunteers and Organizers for Tennessee, accused ICE of “trampling” people’s constitutional rights as the crowd cheered along Church Street.
“It’s such a thoroughly corrupt organization, an organization that poses such a clear danger to the civil liberties of the people in the United States that they cannot be allowed to stand,” Montgomery said.
Metro Nashville Police and federal police watched as one speaker after another followed, evoking chants from the crowd, such as, “No ICE, no KKK, no fascist USA!” Some speakers said they were not paid protesters.
Drew Barto, a retired staff sergeant with the Tennessee National Guard, asked veterans in the group to join him as he spoke. He quoted Gen. Jim Mattis, who served as President Trump’s secretary of defense from 2017 to 2019, in saying, “We must reject any thinking of our cities as a battle space.”
Alluding to the president’s decision to send California National Guard troops to Los Angeles, Barto said, “We do not need to militarize our response to protests. We need to unite around a common purpose, and it starts by guaranteeing that all of us are equal before the law.”
Some motorists honked their horns in approval, but at least one lone counter-protester wearing a shirt saying, “Receive God’s mercy,” marched through the crowd telling people to go home and “stop lying.”
Barto and others eventually guided the man around the perimeter of the rally.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia brought into the courtroom wearing an orange jumpsuit, takes seat as arraignment hearing gets underway in Nashville. Abrego Garcia faces two charges related to the illegal transportation of undocumented immigrants. tennesseelookout.com/2025/06/13/a… @tennesseelookout.com
— Anita Wadhwani (@anitawadhwani.bsky.social) June 13, 2025 at 9:59 AM
Mr. Abrego Garcia, speaking through an interpreter, has entered “not guilty” pleas to the two [email protected]
— Anita Wadhwani (@anitawadhwani.bsky.social) June 13, 2025 at 10:13 AM
One question about the timing of the criminal charges against Mr. Abrega Garcia, which are tied to a 2022 Tennessee traffic stop, was answered by a DHS special agent now testifying. The agent said he was asked to begin his investigation on April 28 of this year. @tennesseelookout.com
— Anita Wadhwani (@anitawadhwani.bsky.social) June 13, 2025 at 10:30 AM
Court takes lunch break after testimony by DHS special agent who investigated Mr. Abrego Garcia and is the state’s sole witness. The defense expects to call Abrego Garcia’s brother to testify after break. The judge has also asked for more info on an ICE hold placed against him @tennesseelookout.com
— Anita Wadhwani (@anitawadhwani.bsky.social) June 13, 2025 at 12:37 PM
Nashville, TN