As speculation rages on over whether deported illegal immigrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia was a member of the violent MS-13 gang, a set of court documents from 2018 has turned the tide, vindicating President Trump and raising more questions about Abrego Garcia’s questionable past.

For context, recent press accounts confirmed that 2018 court papers accused Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an illegal immigrant who was recently deported to El Salvador, of being a gang member. According to the documents, Abrego Garcia’s wife’s ex-partner, Edwin Trejo Ramos, claimed that Abrego Garcia was a gang member, saying that he feared for the lives of his children, who were in Abrego Garcia’s custody.

According to The New York Post, Ramos wrote a petition filed in Prince George’s County Circuit Court in Maryland that expressed fear for the safety of his wife and children with Abrego Garcia in their lives. Ramos was quoted as saying, “She is dating a gang member.”

Furthermore, a statement from the Prince George’s County Police Department shed more light on the situation, explaining that Abrego Garcia was detained with three other men by the police in a Home Depot parking lot. Following the arrest, a PGPD spokesperson said that “PGPD detectives had reasonable suspicion, based on their training and experience, three of the four men, including Kilmar Abrego Garcia, displayed traits associated with MS-13 gang culture.”

In addition, the statement from PGPD continued to say that Abrego Garcia’s outfit that he was wearing at the time of his arrest “represents that they are a member in good standing with MS-13.” However, press coverage confirmed that Abrego Garcia’s attorneys appealed the decision to deny him bond, arguing that there was “no reliable evidence in the record” of his affiliation with MS-13.

After Abrego Garcia was deported to El Salvador, President Trump was admonished to “get him back” by ABC News’ Terry Moran, who told the president, “There’s a phone on this desk.” In response, President Trump said, “I could.” Moran shot back, “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.’”

Responding to Moran, President Trump held his ground, saying, “And if he were the gentleman that you say he is, I would do that.” He then added, “But he is not,” and said, “I’m not the one making this decision.” Near the end of the interview, President Trump said, “This is an MS-13 gang member. He said he wasn’t a member of a gang, and then they looked at his knuckles, and he had MS-13.”

In the interview with Moran, President Trump was referring to a photo, allegedly of Abrego Garcia, that shows that “MS-13” is tattooed across his knuckles. However, the press has questioned the legitimacy of the photo, although it has reportedly been confirmed that Abrego Garcia has knuckle tattoos that are potentially associated with gang membership.

Watch President Trump say he won’t bring Abrego Garcia back to the U.S.:

Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video