Abrego Garcia — the illegal immigrant once hailed by Democrats as a “Maryland man” after his deportation to El Salvador — appeared in federal court in Nashville on Friday and pleaded not guilty to smuggling charges.

He was brought back to the U.S. last week after being deported, and now faces serious federal charges for a 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee. According to the Department of Justice, Abrego Garcia was pulled over with nine people packed into his vehicle — including a 15-year-old boy — most of whom were illegal aliens. If convicted, he could get 10 years in prison for each person he smuggled, plus a $250,000 fine per count. He is also suspected of having MS-13 ties, The Daily Wire reported.

“I’ve been closely monitoring this case, waiting to see if some dark money group would put up the millions of dollars necessary to get him a really good criminal defense attorney or a number of criminal defense attorneys,” Tom Pappert, a reporter for the Tennessee Star, told The Daily Wire. “After more than a week, Kilmar Abrego-Garcia is represented by a number of public defenders with the federal office of Middle Tennessee. Now, this indicates to me, it seems like the Democrats are cutting and running. They’ve realized that this is a losing battle for them and it’s not worth the millions of dollars necessary to get this guy probably to a plea deal.”

During Friday’s six-hour arraignment, new allegations came to light. A Homeland Security agent testified that multiple alleged accomplices said Abrego Garcia asked a 15-year-old girl to send nude photos on Snapchat. His attorneys described it as a “flirtatious event.”

Prosecutors have asked the court to keep him in federal custody until trial. That decision is still pending. If denied, ICE may take over and move him into immigration court — but either way, it doesn’t look like he’s getting out anytime soon.