MAGA Reporter Apologizes for Accusing Deported Dad of Murder
Monica Paige made claims about the wrongfully deported dad, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, on Fox News.
MAGA reporter Monica Paige issued a groveling apology after falsely accusing wrongfully deported Maryland dad Kilmar Abrego Garcia of murder.
Paige, the White House correspondent for pro-MAGA outlet Frontlines—the media arm of Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA—made the explosive allegation on Fox News while discussing the stalling efforts to pass President Donald Trump’s spending megabill, dubbed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
“If you’re going to vote ‘no’ on this, then you’re voting along with Democrats, especially Democrats like [Oregon Representative] Maxine Dexter, who was on the Hill today dressed in a white robe, who also visited El Salvador to go see Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who killed Americans,” Paige said Wednesday. “If you’re not siding with Republicans, then unfortunately, you’re siding with Democrats, anti-American.”
Fox News at Night host Trace Gallagher didn’t correct Paige during the segment but wrapped up the discussion and told her to “stand by if you would.”
Monica Paige was speaking about President Donald Trump's spending bill when she made the false claim.
Screengrab/Fox News
Abrego Garcia—an undocumented father from Maryland—has been at the center of an extended drama between the Trump administration and the courts.
He was initially deported to an El Salvadorian megaprison in March, which the Department of Justice acknowledged it had done in error, for alleged ties to the MS-13 gang. A judge ordered his return and, after months of legal wrangling, the Trump administration returned him in June—only to detain him once again and charge him with human smuggling. He remains in custody in Tennessee.
There is no evidence that Abrego Garcia has ever killed anyone. He has denied the charges against him as well as being a member of MS-13.
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In a follow-up post on X, Paige backtracked and admitted she “inadvertently” said Garcia himself killed Americans, rather than the gang he’s been linked to.
Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen also met with Kilmar Abrego Garcia in El Salvador in April.
Handout/Sen. Van Hollen's Office via Getty Images
“What I meant to say was that he has been connected with gang activity that has devastated the lives of many people and killed an untold number of Americans,” Paige wrote. “He has not been personally linked to the death of anyone, even while being accused of gang activity, including human trafficking, drug trafficking, and spousal abuse. I misspoke, and I apologize for the mistake.”
In court filings, Abrego Garcia has said he suffered mental and physical torture while in the El Salvador prison, including severe beatings, starvation, and sleep deprivation.
Fox News did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Daily Beast.
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