A Salvadoran national whose case has sparked legal and political controversy entered a not guilty plea in a Tennessee courtroom Friday to federal charges of human trafficking and conspiracy.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was deported to El Salvador earlier this year before being returned under court order, appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes for arraignment

Abrego Garcia’s indictment stems from a 2022 traffic stop, when he was pulled over in a vehicle carrying nine passengers, six of whom were later identified as being in the United States illegally. According to prosecutors, one of the passengers was a 15-year-old boy. The government alleges Abrego Garcia was driving without a valid license at the time and was transporting the group from St. Louis to Maryland.

Special Agent Peter T. Joseph, assigned to the case in April, told prosecutors he had reviewed footage of the stop, which forms the basis of the smuggling charges. Federal authorities say the defendant was part of a trafficking operation that moved undocumented migrants from Texas to Maryland, allegedly making over 100 trips between 2016 and 2025.

Abrego Garcia’s attorneys have denied allegations that their client is a member of the MS-13 gang. Court filings state that the government’s claims are based on a confidential informant who linked him to an MS-13 chapter in New York—a state Garcia has never resided in, according to the defense.

The federal case comes after months of legal battles surrounding Garcia’s deportation. In March, the Trump administration removed him to El Salvador despite a 2019 immigration ruling that barred deportation to that country. The Supreme Court later ordered the administration to “facilitate” his return to the United States.

In a filing submitted to the court Wednesday, Abrego Garcia’s legal team pushed for his release from federal custody, arguing he is not a flight risk and that there is no credible evidence he belongs to a criminal organization. “Mr. Abrego Garcia asks the Court for what he has been denied the past several months – due process,” his lawyers wrote.

At a press conference before the arraignment, Garcia’s wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, said Friday marked three months since her husband was “abducted and disappeared” by the Trump administration. She told reporters she had spoken to her husband for the first time the previous day. “Kilmar wants you to have faith,” she said, according to Fox News. “He says to continue fighting, and I will be victorious because God is with us.”

Meanwhile, Garcia’s family has filed a civil suit against the Trump administration for what they call unlawful deportation. U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis, overseeing the civil case, has not yet ruled on a request from the defense to sanction the government for allegedly violating discovery obligations. “The Government’s defiance has not been subtle,” Garcia’s attorneys told the court. “It has been vocal and sustained and flagrant.”