Latest news with #Morales-Reyes
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
Police were investigating if migrant was set up for threatening Trump well ahead of Noem's tweet
Investigators were working to understand if an undocumented migrant, Ramon Morales-Reyes, had been set up by letters threatening President Donald Trump's life several days before Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem publicized the claim that has turned Morales-Reyes' life upside down. According to Milwaukee Police Department records obtained by CNN, investigators had spoken with Morales-Reyes on May 22 – the day he was arrested – about the potential of someone trying to get him deported. Police began investigating jailhouse phone calls from an individual who allegedly attacked Morales-Reyes. Noem tweeted out her accusation that Morales-Reyes threatened Trump on May 28. Morales-Reyes was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents after they received one letter purportedly from Morales-Reyes threatening Trump, according to the police records. The records say that Morales-Reyes gave ICE officers a handwritten note when he was arrested with his family information. Local investigators compared that note to the letter threatening Trump, and found they didn't match. 'This note depicted completely different handwriting than what is on the letters and envelopes,' the police records say. Shortly after his arrest, a local police investigator asked Morales-Reyes whether he knew of anyone who would want to have him deported. He said he only knew of one person who he had an issue with: the man who allegedly assaulted him in 2023, the records state. On Monday, the Milwaukee police began looking into calls made by that person from prison, where he is being held pending a trial in the case. Then, on Wednesday, Noem claimed on social media that Morales-Reyes sent a letter threatening to kill Trump, all while investigators already believed he had been set up. Despite this, the letter, alongside pictures of Morales-Reyes, were plastered over social media by Noem, DHS and several news outlets. Attorneys and local organizers held a news conference Friday in Milwaukee to call on DHS to issue a correction, adding that the family of the migrant has received threats in wake of the report. 'This false claim has now had the consequence that the family feels that their lives are being threatened,' Christine Neumann-Ortiz, executive director of Voces de la Frontera – an organization that assists undocumented immigrants – said Friday. 'They want his name cleared,' Neumann-Ortiz said, adding that Morales-Reyes' daughter has told the organization her father cannot speak or write in English and only became of aware of the allegations against him after seeing social media posts. 'He's a very humble person. Soft spoken,' Morales-Reyes' attorney Kime Abduli said, adding that he washes dishes for a living and is a hard worker who is focused on supporting several children. 'That's really been his motive in being here' in the US. DHS has not responded to CNN's questions Friday about the police records or the request from Morales-Reyes' attorneys to change the social media posts. On Thursday, in a statement to CNN, a senior DHS official said 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. He will remain in custody,' the official said. Prison calls pulled by investigators and detailed in the police records – a process that started on Monday – show how another person, accused of attacking Morales-Reyes, discussed sending letters to government offices, including ICE, and wanted to have him deported prior to the case going to trial in July, preventing Morales-Reyes from ever testifying against him. The person allegedly cut Morales-Reyes with a box cutter before robbing him of his bike in September 2023 and while the case is set to go to trial, it is unclear now if Morales-Reyes will be able to testify or will be deported from the country beforehand. The calls obtained by investigators allegedly detail how the person had others search for government addresses, including the ICE office where the letter was received, and had them mail letters. 'With my armed robbery case, he's an illegal immigrant. Soon as ICE makes contact with him, he's getting deported,' the individual allegedly said on a May 3 call transcribed by police. In a call in early April, the person said that because Trump is now in office it would be easy to have Reyes – whom he described as an 'illegal immigrant' who didn't 'know a lick of English' – deported. 'He outta there,' the person said in a phone call on May 1, according to police records. 'Once he have a run in with any ICE law enforcement. When he came to court he was scared to testify but even if you an illegal immigrant you can still testify but Trump wasn't in office but now Trump came in office, they deported any motherf**ker. They going into court houses, all that.' On other calls, the person allegedly asked for the local ICE office's phone number and tried to have someone set up a three-way call with the office. (That effort was unsuccessful.) The person also allegedly asked for the address for the ICE office and Attorney General Pam Bondi. 'I sent a big manila envelope to mama's house. It either got there yesterday or – so, um, it's either gonna be there tomorrow or it already got there,' the person allegedly said on a phone call in April. 'It's two letters in there that's already written up, I just need you to put them in the mailbox for me. I just need them to be mailed out from the street and not from here.' On a phone call the following day, the person said he would call back using another inmate's pin 'because the DA be listening to my calls,' the alleged assailant said. 'I got a plan,' he said, according to the records. 'I got a hell of a plan.' CNN has reached out to the attorney who represents the man that allegedly attacked Morales-Reyes. As of Friday, there have been no additional charges against the man. The Milwaukee Police Department told CNN it is investigating an identity theft and victim intimidation incident related to the case. Jeffrey J. Altenburg, chief deputy district attorney for the Milwaukee district attorney's office, said in an email Thursday the matter is under investigation. Morales-Reyes is scheduled for a June 4 hearing in front of an immigration judge, his immigration attorney, Cain Oulahan, told CNN. He had applied for a visa meant to protect undocumented migrants who were victims in a crime, allowing them to remain in the US while they are cooperating with authorities, the attorney said. Those visas, however, take years to get approved and the government only allows a limited number. 'It's really sort of up in the air whether he's going to be released or not,' Oulahan said. 'If he had a removal order, he would not be going to court,' Oulahan added. 'The government is not alleging that he was deported previously.' Oulahan said that Morales-Reyes' status in the US 'doesn't change the fact that he is a victim' of a violent crime. 'The District Attorney has certified that he was a victim and is cooperating,' Oulahan said of the DA in Milwaukee, adding that there is a strong desire to clear Morales-Reyes's name from what appears 'to be completely false and fraudulent accusation against him.' The arrest and subsequent publicity in this case, the attorney said, could end up harming undocumented migrants who are crime victims. 'It's going to have a chilling effect if people are not willing to come forward,' Oulahan said.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
ICE Arrests Immigrant Who Allegedly Threatened to Shoot Trump in Letter
A Mexican immigrant was arrested after allegedly threatening to shoot President Donald Trump in a handwritten letter, the Department of Homeland Security said Wednesday. The DHS said Ramon Morales-Reyes, a 54-year-old immigrant who allegedly entered the U.S. illegally, wrote in a letter to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent that he would self-deport—but only after using his gun on the president. 'We are tired of this president messing with us Mexicans,' the letter read. 'We have done more for this country than you white people—you have been deporting my family and I think it is time Donald J. Trump get what he has coming to him.' 'I will self-deport myself back to Mexico but not before I use my 30 yard 6 to shoot your precious president in his head—I will see him at one of his big rallies,' Morales-Reyes added, in an apparent reference to a .30-06 rifle. The DHS said an ICE field intelligence officer received the letter in the mail on May 21. The following day, ICE arrested Morales-Reyes. The agency said Morales-Reyes entered the U.S. illegally 'at least nine times' between 1998 and 2005, and that his criminal record includes arrests for felony hit and run, criminal damage to property, and disorderly conduct. Morales-Reyes is held at the Dodge County Jail in Juneau, Wisconsin while awaiting his removal proceedings, the DHS said. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem noted in a statement that the letter came on the heels of a now-deleted Instagram post by former FBI Director James Comey that authorities perceived as a threat to the president's life, as well as two assassination attempts on Trump last year. 'All politicians and members of the media should take notice of these repeated attempts on President Trump's life and tone down their rhetoric,' she said. 'I will continue to take all measures necessary to ensure the protection of President Trump.' Over the weekend, the Justice Department said an American-German man was arrested over his threats to kill Trump in his social media posts and an attempt to firebomb the U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Noem says ICE arrested man in US illegally who threatened to kill Trump
Federal authorities arrested a migrant living in the country illegally who allegedly planned to kill President Trump before self-deporting to Mexico, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced Wednesday in a message also calling for people to 'tone down their rhetoric.' Mexican national Ramon Morales-Reyes, 54, was arrested May 22 after a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) field intelligence officer received a letter in the mail from Morales-Reyes in which he stated he wanted to shoot Trump in the head before departing the U.S. 'We are tired of this president messing with us Mexicans — we have done more for this country than you white people,' he allegedly wrote in the letter. 'You have been deporting my family and I think it is time Donald J. Trump get what he has coming to him.' 'I will self deport myself back to Mexico, but not before I use my 30 yard 6 to shoot your precious president in his head — I will see him at one of his big ralleys,' Morales-Reyes added in the handwritten note. According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Morales-Reyes entered the U.S. illegally at least nine times between 1998 and 2005 and has a criminal record that includes arrests for a felony hit-and-run, criminal damage to property and disorderly conduct with a domestic abuse modifier. He is being held in ICE custody at Dodge County Jail in Juneau, Wis., pending deportation proceedings, the DHS said. Noem noted in her release that the threatening letter followed an Instagram post from former FBI Director James Comey that Trump and his allies viewed as a call for the 47th president's assassination. The Secret Service interviewed Comey on May 16 about his photo of seashells on a beach that spelled out '86 47.' Comey denied the photo was a call for violence and removed the post. Noem also pointed that Trump was shot during a campaign rally in Butler, Pa., with the bullet narrowly missing his head in a failed assassination attempt last summer. 'All politicians and members of the media should take notice of these repeated attempts on President Trump's life and tone down their rhetoric,' she said. 'I will continue to take all measures necessary to ensure the protection of President Trump.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
India Today
3 days ago
- Politics
- India Today
ICE arrests Mexican national accused of threatening to assassinate Trump
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced the arrest of 54-year-old Ramon Morales-Reyes, a Mexican national who allegedly threatened to assassinate President Donald Trump in a handwritten letter sent to the to ICE and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Morales-Reyes, who has illegally entered the United States multiple times between 1998 and 2005, was taken into custody on May 22 in field agents acted swiftly after receiving the threatening letter, which stated Morales-Reyes intended to shoot President Trump at one of his rallies before self-deporting to Mexico. 'We are tired of this President messing with us Mexicans - we have done more for this country than you white people - you have been deporting my family and I think it is time Donald J. Trump get what he has coming to him. I will self-deport myself back to Mexico but not before I use my 30 yard 6 to shoot your precious president in his head - I will see him at one of his big ralleys.' the letter reportedly This letter was sent to an ICE intelligence author, identified by DHS as Ramon Morales Reyes, a 54 y/o illegal immigrant from Mexico, declared his plans to assassinate Donald arrested the man the following day, May 22. Anna Giaritelli (@Anna_Giaritelli) May 28, 2025advertisementHomeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem condemned the threat in a statement. 'Thanks to our ICE officers, this illegal alien who threatened to assassinate President Trump is behind bars,' she said. 'This threat comes not even a year after President Trump was shot in Butler, Pennsylvania, and less than two weeks after former FBI Director Comey called for the President's assassination.'Noem further urged political figures and media representatives to moderate their rhetoric, warning that inflammatory discourse may contribute to real-world violence. 'I will continue to take all necessary measures to ensure the protection of President Trump,' she confirmed that Morales-Reyes has a prior criminal record, including felony hit-and-run, criminal damage to property, and disorderly conduct with a domestic abuse modifier. He is currently being held at Dodge County Jail in Juneau, Wisconsin, while deportation proceedings are underway.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Undocumented migrant arrested after threatening to kill ‘your precious' President Trump and then self-deport to Mexico
An undocumented immigrant has been detained after threatening to kill President Donald Trump before self-deporting to Mexico, authorities said. Ramon Morales-Reyes, 54, allegedly entered the U.S. illegally from Mexico and sent a handwritten letter to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement stating that he intended to assassinate the president at one of his rallies. He was arrested on May 22 after the arrival of the letter, which the Department of Homeland Security released on Wednesday afternoon. 'We are tired of this president messing with us Mexicans — we have done more for this country than you white people — you have been deporting my family and I think it is time Donald J. Trump get what he has coming to him,' Morales-Reyes wrote in the blue ink note. 'I will self deport myself back to Mexico but not before I use my 30 yard 6 [sic] [gun] to shoot your precious president in [h]is head — I will see him at one of his big ralleys [sic],' the letter stated. DHS said in a statement that Morales-Reyes entered the U.S. unlawfully at least nine times between 1998 and 2005, and that he has a criminal record that includes a felony hit and run, criminal property damage, and disorderly conduct linked to domestic abuse. The department added that Morales-Reyes will be in custody at the Dodge County Jail in Juneau, Wisconsin, until his removal proceedings. 'Thanks to our ICE officers, this illegal alien who threatened to assassinate President Trump is behind bars,' Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement on Wednesday. 'This threat comes not even a year after President Trump was shot in Butler, Pennsylvania and less than two weeks after former FBI Director Comey called for the President's assassination.' Noem's 'assassination' comment was referring to a social media post by James Comey, whom Trump fired in 2017, which showed '86 47' written using seashells on a beach. Some have interpreted the numbers as calling for violence against Trump, who's the 47th president. But '86' is commonly known as a term meaning to throw someone out of an establishment, like a bar, for misbehavior, or to eliminate an item from a menu. Comey has said that to interpret his Instagram post as a call for violence against the president is 'crazy.' He has since deleted the post. 'Even if I think it's crazy, I don't want to be associated with violence of any kind,' he said on MSNBC. Noem also mentioned the July 13, 2024, assassination attempt against Trump during a rally when a bullet grazed the president's ear. The Secret Service shot and killed the gunman. 'All politicians and members of the media should take notice of these repeated attempts on President Trump's life and tone down their rhetoric,' said Noem. 'I will continue to take all measures necessary to ensure the protection of President Trump.'
