Man accused of framing other man for deportation by writing letters
threatening Trump's life
[June 03, 2025]
MILWAUKEE (AP) — A Wisconsin man is facing charges accusing him of
forging a letter threatening President Donald Trump's life in an effort
to get another man deported.
Prosecutors said in a criminal complaint filed Monday that Demetric D.
Scott was behind a letter sent to state and federal officials with the
return address and name of Ramón Morales Reyes.
Scott was charged Monday with felony witness intimidation, identity
theft and two counts of bail jumping. His attorney, Robert Hampton III,
didn't immediately return an email from The Associated Press seeking
comment.
Immigration agents arrested Morales Reyes, 54, on May 21 after he
dropped his child off at school in Milwaukee. Homeland Security
Secretary Kristi Noem announced the arrest, saying he had written a
letter threatening to kill Trump and would “self-deport” to Mexico. The
announcement, which also was posted by the White House on its social
media accounts, contained an image of the letter as well as a photo of
Morales Reyes.
But the claim started to unravel as investigators talked to Morales
Reyes, who doesn't speak English fluently, and obtained a handwriting
sample from him that was different than the handwriting in the letters,
according to court documents.
Morales Reyes is listed as a victim in the case involving Scott, who is
awaiting trial in Milwaukee County Jail on armed robbery and aggravated
battery charges. The trial is scheduled for July.
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Cain Oulahan, Ramon Morales Reyes' immigration attorney addresses
the media Friday, May 30, 2025 in Milwaukee about the detention of
his client Ramon Morales Reyes. (AP Photo/Andy Manis,File)
Law enforcement officers listened to several calls Scott made from
the jail in which he talked about letters that needed to be mailed
and a plan to get someone picked up by ICE so Scott's trial could
get dismissed, according to the criminal complaint. He also admitted
to police that he wrote the letters, documents said.
Morales Reyes works as a dishwasher in Milwaukee, where he lives
with his wife and three children. He had recently applied for a U
visa, which is for people in the country illegally who become
victims of serious crimes, said attorney Kime Abduli, who filed that
application.
Abduli told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Monday that she was
glad Morales Reyes was being cleared of any involvement in the
letter writing.
His deportation defense lawyer, Cain Oulahan, wrote in an email
Monday night that the main focus now is to secure Morales Reyes'
release from custody and the next step will be to pursue any relief
he may qualify for in immigration court.
“While he has a U visa pending, those are unfortunately backlogged
for years, so we will be looking at other options to keep him here
with his family, which includes his three US citizen children,”
Oulahan wrote.
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