“Kilmar Abrego Garcia's knuckle tattoos say "M, S, one, three" [MS-13], "as clear as you can be. Not interpreted."”

Multiple Truth Social posts and remarks defending Abrego Garcia's deportation to El Salvador

The tattoos do not spell MS-13. The image Trump posted shows the characters M, S, 1 and 3 digitally added above Abrego Garcia's existing tattoos, which are a leaf, a smiley face, a cross and a skull (CBS News). Gang researchers who spoke to CBS cast doubt on the claim that the leaf stands for M, the smiley face for S, the cross for 1 and the skull for 3. When ABC's Terry Moran said he had tattoos "that can be interpreted that way," Trump replied: "He had MS as clear as you can be. Not interpreted."

The administration's MS-13 case rests largely on a 2019 Prince George's County gang field interview sheet: he was identified as a member "because he was wearing a Chicago Bulls hat" and on a confidential informant's tip, and he was never charged with any crime from that matter. The strongest points on the other side: an immigration judge in 2019 found the informant's identification sufficient to deny bond, a decision upheld on appeal, and experts told CBS the tattoos could carry gang-related symbolism. Neither makes the tattoos literally read MS-13.

"The experts and researchers we spoke with acknowledged the tattoos could carry gang-related symbolism, but they said the markings alone are not reliable indicators of membership." (CBS News)