A Biden-appointed federal judge in California ordered the immediate release of a man identified as an MS-13 member known as “La Bruja” (“The Witch”) after ruling his five-month immigration detention violated due-process protections, according to The Gateway Pundit, which cites the New York Post and federal court records.
What the report says the court decided
The Gateway Pundit reports that U.S. District Judge Jinsook Ohta granted a petition on August 26 to free David Antonio Aviles Perez, a 35-year-old Salvadoran national, after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained him for five months without first making an individualized finding that he was a danger to the public or a flight risk. The outlet quotes the order as stating, “The government has offered no evidence that it detained him after considering those facts and making an individualized determination of his danger to the public or flight risk.”
The same report says Ohta barred immigration officials from re-arresting Aviles Perez absent a bond hearing before an immigration judge. Daily Allegiant has not independently reviewed the court order or docket referenced.
Why the case is drawing scrutiny
The Gateway Pundit, citing the New York Post, identifies Aviles Perez as an MS-13 member with an international warrant who was convicted in absentia of aggravated murder in El Salvador. According to El Salvador’s Attorney General’s Office, as quoted in the report, Aviles Perez and another MS-13 member tracked a man in La Unión in July 2014; the victim was forced to his knees and shot multiple times in the chest, back, and face. The report says Aviles Perez and a co-defendant each received 20-year sentences in absentia.
The outlet also reports that Aviles Perez entered the United States in December 2013 and remained without legal status, and that ICE apprehended him in San Diego on March 26, 2026. It further notes prior California arrests, including a 2023 Monterey case alleging he swung a machete, along with arrests involving possession of a controlled substance and petty theft; the report asserts he was released under California’s sanctuary policies before ICE later re-arrested him. These points are reported by The Gateway Pundit and have not been independently verified here.
What the ruling did—and did not—change
Per The Gateway Pundit’s account, the federal ruling addressed detention procedures and did not overturn any Salvadoran conviction in absentia or rescind any outstanding foreign warrant.
