Fox News personality Jesse Watters said it’s “common knowledge” in El Salvador that wearing Chicago Bulls apparel is associated with MS-13, ridiculing claims that Kilmar Abrego Garcia—recently deported—was simply a basketball fan.

Garcia, a native of El Salvador, escaped to the U.S. as a teenager after gangs started targeting his family. According to documents filed in court, a criminal group began extorting his grandmother’s tortilla stand with threats of violence. Seeking safety, Garcia crossed the border and eventually settled in Maryland, where he built a life with his wife and kids while applying for asylum.

The controversy surrounding Garcia’s Chicago Bulls cap emerged after law enforcement mentioned it as potential gang-related attire in official documents. Authorities argued that the hat might signal ties to MS-13, a violent gang known to use certain brands or team logos as identifiers, though that practice varies among individuals.

Garcia’s legal team has adamantly denied this interpretation, arguing that the hat reflects fashion choices and not criminal affiliation. They called the claim speculative and misleading. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has ordered the Trump-era Justice Department to aid in Garcia’s return to the U.S., but Watters dismissed the backstory entirely.

Speaking on his Fox show Tuesday night, Watters scoffed at the claim that Garcia was a true Chicago Bulls fan—especially since the team had a dismal 2019 season. He sarcastically challenged whether Garcia could even name a current player, implying the man wore the gear for reasons unrelated to basketball.

The host continued by doubling down on the notion that a Bulls hat equates to gang identity in certain places. “Everybody from El Salvador knows what wearing that hat means,” Watters said. “It’s not something you wear by accident, just like you don’t wear red in certain neighborhoods without knowing the implications.” He also accused Garcia of surrounding himself with MS-13 members while living in Maryland.

Watters proceeded to mock the circumstances that led Garcia to seek refuge. “So let me get this straight,” he said, “a gang threatened his grandma’s tortilla business, and now he says he’ll be killed if he goes back?” He sarcastically called it a “tortilla shop vendetta” and dismissed the situation as absurd. He ended by ridiculing the legal team that brought Garcia’s case before the Supreme Court.