Politics
NEW: Democrats’ ‘Maryland Man’ Scandal Worsens After Yet Another Stunning Revelation
News about the infamous “Maryland Man” has gone from bad to worse after mainstream media outlets on Thursday began to produce reports that he had a history of violence, undercutting Democrats’ narrative that he was an innocent stepfather of two caught up in an illegal mass deportation conspiracy.
In response to relentless pressure, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem last month released investigatory records about Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the El Salvadoran national and suspected member of the violent MS-13 gang. Some included testimony by the ex-husband of his wife that Garcia was indeed affiliated with a gang, and he feared for his children.
Garcia’s wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, in 2021, sought a restraining order against her second husband, citing his tendency toward violence. That allegation was picked up on Thursday with the publishing of a damning report vindicating Noem and the Trump administration’s decision to deport him to a supermax prison in his home country.
White House officials learned this week about the existence of previous allegations of violence Sura made against Garcia. On six instances from 2019 to 2021, she called local police in Maryland to report violent behavior by her new husband, according to court documents filed when Sura sought a restraining order. Those documents were released by DHS on Wednesday.
Despite their previous animosity, Sura has emerged as a vociferous defender of Garcia, pleading with the Trump administration to undertake all efforts to free him from the notorious Salvadoran prison where he is now an inmate under the authority of President Nayib Bukele.
Regardless, administration officials made clear they plan to use Sura’s past allegations as evidence to refute the accusation that Garcia was a nonviolent illegal immigrant wrongly arrested and deported.
“The media continues to call him a victim while ignoring the real victims: the women he battered, the children he terrorized, and the communities he endangered,” DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said.
“Let us be crystal clear: Kilmar Abrego Garcia will never be on American streets again.”
Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, a lawyer for Garcia, said it’s unfair to equate allegations of domestic violence with membership in an international gang like MS-13.
“If they want to put him on trial for that, they are welcome to bring him back and do so. We’ll defend him in court,” Sandoval-Moshenberg told Axios.
The debate around Garcia’s deportation did not abate even after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration must take steps to “facilitate” his return and afford him due process. However, the court stopped short of mandating that authorities “effectuate” his return, leaving Garcia in a purgatory of international relations.
During an interview to mark his 100th day in office, President Trump agreed that he has the power to pick up the phone and call Bukele to request Garcia’s release. However, the fact remains that he was living in the U.S. illegally and has a credible history of criminal behavior, including a 2022 traffic stop where authorities suspected he was working for a human smuggling operation.
“You could get him back. There’s a phone on this desk. You could pick it up, and with all the power of the presidency, you could call up the President of El Salvador and say, ‘Send him back. Right now,’” ABC News reporter Terry Moran challenged Trump.
“And if he were the gentleman that you say he is, I would do that. But he’s not,” responded the president.
