By Nate Raymond

(Reuters) -A federal judge ruled on Friday there was a realistic likelihood that the criminal charges the U.S. Department of Justice brought against Kilmar Abrego, the alleged gang member who was wrongly deported by President Donald Trump’s administration to El Salvador, amounted to a vindictive prosecution.

U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw in Nashville, Tennessee, cited statements administration officials made celebrating the charges brought against Abrego as evidence the indictment may have been pursued in retaliation for a lawsuit he brought in Maryland challenging his wrongful deportation.

Crenshaw pointed to “remarkable statements” Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche made on Fox News that prosecutors started investigating Abrego after a judge in Maryland questi

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