Man Forges Letter to Frame Immigrant in Milwaukee

Protesters gather outside of the Federal Building in Milwaukee to denounce the arrest of Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan. (Photo by Isiah Holmes/Wisconsin Examiner)

A Milwaukee man was charged Monday after writing a letter to the Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that threatened to assassinate President Donald Trump. Demetric Scott told investigators that he wrote the letter claiming to be 54-year Ramón Morales Reyes, a Mexican-born Milwaukee resident who does not have permanent legal status. Scott was already incarcerated in the Milwaukee County Jail for armed robbery and aggravated battery and allegedly victimized Morales Reyes when he committed that crime.

WISN 12 reported that Scott told investigators that he wrote the letter framing Morales Reyes because he didn’t want Morales Reyes to testify against him during his trial in July. Scott reportedly told a person during a recorded jailhouse call that if Morales Reyes “gets picked up by ICE, there won’t be a jury trial so they will probably dismiss it that day. That’s my plan.”

The letter Scott authored was written in perfect English, with only a few misspellings. “We are tired of this president messing with us Mexicans,” it stated, adding, “I will self deport myself back to Mexico but not before I use my 30 yard 6 (sic) to shoot your precious president in the head – I’ll see you at one of his big ralleys (sic).” The letter was likely referring to a .30-06 (pronounced 30 ought six) high caliber rifle round, and appeared to be an assassination threat against the president.

On Friday, lawyers representing Morales Reyes and local immigration advocates from Voces de la Frontera held a press conference, asserting that Morales Reyes could not have authored the letter. The 54-year-old father, who works as a dishwasher, comes from a rural part of Mexico where he received little formal education. He does not speak English and cannot read or write proficiently even in Spanish.

After Morales Reyes was arrested by ICE, his daughter contacted Voces de la Frontera and shared information about his background. Days after the arrest, Department of Homeland (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem issued a press statement, condemning Morales Reyes as having threatened President Trump’s life. Noem said the letter was part of a series of dangerous threats to the president.

Morales Reyes’ attorneys and Voces de la Frontera called on DHS to retract Noem’s statement and clear his name. It’s unclear why Noem issued the statement, as CNN reported that MPD was investigating the likelihood that the letter was a fake on the day Morales Reyes was arrested. Scott told investigators that he did not receive any help in writing the letters.

Democratic U.S. Reps. Gwen Moore and Mark Pocan visited the Dodge County jail, Wisconsin’s only ICE detention facility Monday, on a congressional oversight visit. They were not permitted to talk to anyone incarcerated there and did not receive any response to their questions from ICE.

“In this facility, ICE is still detaining Ramón Morales Reyes despite being wrongfully accused of a crime,” Moore and Pocan said in a joint statement. “ICE is also working without transparency to Congress, which was only magnified by today’s visit when we tried to call the local Milwaukee field office number on its website, but the number was disconnected. It is unacceptable for ICE to be inaccessible to Members of Congress. As members of Congress, we will continue using all tools available to conduct oversight.”

Man admits to forging letter to frame immigrant witness in Milwaukee was originally published by the Wisconsin Examiner.