Wisconsin man forged threats against Trump to try to get witness against him deported, officials say

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2 days ago

A Wisconsin man has been charged with forging letters seeking to frame and deport another man who was a potential witness against him in a robbery case.
Demetric D. Scott, 52, allegedly sent letters claiming to be from Ramón Morales Reyes that threatened to kill Donald Trump and bashed immigration policies to state and federal officials, according to Wisconsin prosecutors.
He was charged in a Milwaukee court on Monday with felony witness intimidation, identity theft and two counts of bail jumping.
The letters allegedly sent by Scott in Morales Reyes' name were received on May 21 by the Wisconsin Attorney General's Office, the Milwaukee Police Chief and Milwaukee Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office.
The letters were handwritten and all about 'immigration policy and threatening to kill ICE agents of Donald Trump,' according to the criminal complaint.
Morales Reyes, 54, was then arrested on May 22 because his name was on the return address of those letters, the complaint said.
The Department of Homeland Security had posted about his arrest in May, with Secretary Kristi Noem saying, 'Thanks to our ICE officers, this illegal alien who threatened to assassinate President Trump is behind bars.' The news release included a photo of Morales Reyes and a photo of the handwritten letter that threatened to shoot Trump at one of his "big" rallies.
However, things didn't add up — the investigating detective found that Morales Reyes doesn't read write or speak English fluently and needed translation assistance. A writing sample also showed Morales Reyes' handwriting was different from the one used in the letters, authorities said.
Law enforcement asked if Morales Reyes knew anyone who would want to get him in trouble. Morales Reyes said only the person 'who had robbed him' — Demetric Scott, the complaint said.
Morales Reyes told the detective he knew Scott was in jail on an armed robbery charge. Court records show Scott is awaiting trial in Milwaukee County on armed robbery and aggravated battery charges from September 2023.
Following that interview, law enforcement listened to several of Scott's jail calls and found that, since April 27, he had made several phone calls about mailing out letters, the complaint said.
In one call, on May 16, Scott said that 'this dude is a goddamn illegal immigrant and they just need to pick his ass up. I'm dead serious cause I got jury trial on July 15th.' Later in that call he said: 'The judge will agree cause if he gets picked up by ICE, there won't be a jury trial so they will probably dismiss it that day. That's my plan.'
On May 30, a Milwaukee police detective conducted an interview with Scott said he admitted to writing the letters and addressing the envelopes himself, authorities said, adding that he said he wrote them seeing 'freedom.'
He admitted his intention wasn't to go after Trump, but to prevent Morales Reyes from testifying at his trial, authorities said.
A search warrant was executed on May 30 at Scott's jail cell and a blue pen was found — the letters were written with blue ink — along with pink paper with a note reminding himself he needs the attorney general's office address, as well as an envelope.
An attorney for Scott, Robert Hampton III, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the new charges.
Kime Abduli, an attorney for Morales Reyes, told NBC News that Morales Reyes was a victim of armed robbery of aggravated battery, and that Scott is the defendant in the case, which is set for trial July 14.
'It is our understanding that Mr. Scott targeted (Mr. Morales Reyes) because of his immigration status with the express intent of having him removed from the United States so that (Mr. Morales Reyes) could not testify against him,' Abduli said.
The attorney said Morales Reyes remains in ICE custody and is in removal proceedings at this time, which does not mean a person will be automatically deported.
A senior Department of Homeland Security official told NBC News that Morales Reyes will remain in custody.
'The investigation into the threat is ongoing. Over the course of the investigation, this individual was determined to be in the country illegally and that he had a criminal record,' the official said.
The DHS news release from May said that Morales Reyes had "entered the U.S. illegally at least nine times between 1998-2005" and he had a criminal record with arrests for felony hit and run, criminal damage to property and disorderly conduct with a domestic abuse modifier. The release said he'll remain in ICE custody at Dodge County Jail in Juneau, Wisconsin, pending removal proceedings.
Abduli told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that Morales Reyes is in the process of applying for a U-visa, which allows undocumented victims and witnesses of certain crimes to stay in the U.S. for up to four years if they help in the investigation. He had applied as a victim and witness of the robbery Scott is accused of carrying out.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com