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One former federal prosecutor said Kilmar Abrego Garcia could face death penalty-eligible charges if the government finds enough evidence tying him to an incident that left 50 migrants dead.
Abrego Garcia was indicted on charges of alien smuggling and conspiracy by a grand jury in Tennessee earlier this month. The indictment says Abrego Garcia played a “significant role” in a human smuggling ring that was in operation for nearly a decade.
During a news conference, Attorney General Pam Bondi described Abrego Garcia as a full-time smuggler who racked up over 100 trips throughout the U.S., transporting MS-13 gang-affiliated members, children and women.
According to the indictment, Abrego Garcia and several co-conspirators are accused of working together to transport illegal immigrants from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Ecuador and Mexico to the U.S. for “profit and private financial gain.”
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Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran illegal migrant who was deported to El Salvador, is seen wearing a Chicago Bulls hat, in this handout. (Abrego Garcia Family/Handout via Reuters)
During one of these trips, Abrego Garcia’s alleged co-conspirators’ tractor trailer, which was carrying over 150 migrants, overturned, leaving more than 50 migrants dead and many others injured, authorities said.
Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Neama Rahmani told Fox News Digital this incident could be the basis for death penalty-eligible charges, if federal prosecutors choose to go down that route.
“Even if Abrego Garcia wasn’t in the vehicle, as long as he’s a co-conspirator, they could potentially seek the death penalty,” Rahmani said. “The classic law school example is this: You and a co-conspirator rob a bank. Your co-conspirator shoots someone during that robbery. Prosecutors can seek the death penalty even though you’re not the one who actually pulled the trigger.”
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Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia is seen in a car during a traffic stop. (Tennessee Highway Patrol)
“If the Justice Department can prove that Abrego Garcia was involved in the alien smuggling death, even though the death occurred in Mexico, as long as the intention was to bring those individuals to the United States, that may appropriately be a death penalty case,” he added.
Rahmani said the deaths wouldn’t need to be intentional for federal prosecutors to bring up death-penalty-eligible charges.
This undated photo provided by Murray Osorio PLLC shows Kilmar Abrego Garcia. (Murray Osorio PLLC via AP)
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“Prosecutors don’t have to prove that Abrego Garcia intended to cause any injuries or even intended to hurt anyone. As long as they can show that he intended to smuggle people into the United States and a death resulted, that’s enough,” Rahmani said.
“Prosecutors just have to prove knowledge and intent of the smuggling operation as well as causation. The death resulted therefrom. That’s enough for a death penalty case.”
Rahmani said that being a co-conspirator makes people criminally liable for conduct during the crime, but noted that prosecutors don’t typically seek the death penalty in instances like this.
Fox News Digital reached out to the DOJ and Abrego Garcia’s lawyer for comment.