Newly released video shows Abrego Garcia’s 2022 Tennessee traffic stop

(NEW YORK) — Newly released video shows the moments when Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the man wrongfully deported from the United States to a prison in El Salvador, was pulled over by state troopers in Tennessee in 2022.

The video, which was obtained by ABC News through a public records request, shows members of the Tennessee Highway Patrol questioning Abrego Garcia on the side of Interstate 40 after nightfall.

Abrego Garcia was not charged or arrested during the traffic stop, which lasted for more than an hour. This stop is separate from the stop in March by federal agents in Maryland that led to Abrego Garcia being taken into custody and ultimately deported to El Salvador.

Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran native who has been living with his wife and children in Maryland, was deported in March to El Salvador’s CECOT mega-prison — despite a 2019 court order barring his deportation to that country due to fear of persecution — after the Trump administration claimed he was a member of the criminal gang MS-13. His wife and attorneys deny that he is an MS-13 member.

The 2022 traffic stop was disclosed in April in a press release issued by the Department of Homeland Security, which said it had a “bombshell investigative report” regarding the stop alleging that Abrego Garcia was a suspected human trafficker. The release included a screengrab of the body camera video.

“The encountering officer decided not to cite the subject for driving infractions but gave him a warning citation for driving with an expired driver’s license,” the release added.

“Kilmar worked in construction and sometimes transported groups of workers between job sites, so it’s entirely plausible he would have been pulled over while driving with others in the vehicle,” Jennifer Vasquez, Abrego Garcia’s wife, said in a statement after the release was issued.

The DHS press release said that the 2022 traffic stop occurred on Dec. 1, but an incident report released by the Tennessee Highway Patrol indicated that the stop took place on Nov. 30.

The traffic stop occurred in the Cookeville area, roughly 80 miles east of Nashville.

The trooper who pulled Abrego Garcia over told him that he was driving 75 miles per hour in a 65 mph zone. Abrego Garcia told the trooper that his license was suspended because he was waiting for an immigration paper, adding that he lives in Maryland and that the car he was driving belonged to his boss.

“You got a bunch of people in here, don’t you,” a trooper said after approaching the Chevrolet Suburban that Abrego Garcia was driving, according to the body camera video.

After going to his police car and returning, the trooper asks Abrego Garcia about how many rows of seats were in the car.

“I’ve never seen one with that many seats in it,” the trooper says.

“Oh, really?” Abrego Garcia responds.

The trooper then asks Abrego Garcia if there is anything illegal in the car.

“Nothing sir,” Abrego Garcia replies.

Abrego Garcia is asked to step out of the car and tells the trooper that he was traveling from St. Louis, Missouri, where he had a work project.

“Right now, I’m going back to home,” Abrego Garcia says before the trooper has a K-9 sniff the exterior of the vehicle. It appears that the police dog did not locate anything suspicious.

Troopers later allowed Abrego Garcia to sit in the back of a patrol car to escape the cold temperatures while they spoke among themselves and questioned his passengers, but no one at the scene was taken into custody.

“Thank you, bro,” Abrego Garcia says. “Thank you so much.”

Abrego Garcia was ultimately allowed to drive off, smiling at the trooper who stopped him as he exited the patrol car and returned to the Chevrolet.

The Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security blurred license plates and redacted part of the audio of the traffic stop.

A federal judge ruled last month that the Trump administration must “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s return to the United States, and the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously affirmed that ruling, “with due regard for the deference owed to the Executive Branch in the conduct of foreign affairs.”

The Trump administration, while acknowledging that Abrego Garcia was deported to El Salvador in error, has said that his alleged MS-13 affiliation makes him ineligible to return to the United States. Several members of the administration, including Attorney General Pam Bondi and White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, have suggested that the matter is up to El Salvador President Nayib Bukele.