Latest news with #TrumpThreat
CNN
6 days ago
- Politics
- CNN
DHS official concedes undocumented migrant believed to have been framed is no longer under investigation
A Department of Homeland Security official conceded Wednesday that an undocumented migrant believed to have been framed with threatening to kill President Donald Trump is no longer under investigation. DHS and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem had initially highlighted the arrest of Ramon Morales-Reyes in connection with the threat before CNN reported law enforcement believed he was a victim of a setup. The department has not issued a correction or taken down a news release on the case since then, though the DHS official conceded Morales-Reyes is no longer being examined for the purported threat. 'This criminal illegal alien is no longer under investigation for threats against the president, but will remain in ICE custody pending removal proceedings as he is in the country illegally with previous arrests for felony hit and run, criminal damage to property, and disorderly conduct with a domestic abuse modifier,' the official said Wednesday. Wednesday's admission came after CNN pressed White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt about whether the Department of Homeland Security would issue a clarification or correction to their previous statements. 'We can ask the Department of Homeland Security and get back to you,' Leavitt told CNN's Kaitlan Collins at Tuesday's press briefing. Earlier Wednesday, an immigration judge said she needed more time to review the case and delayed a hearing for a week. The judge said she would only be weighing whether Morales-Reyes is a danger to the community or a flight risk during the next hearing, scheduled for June 10. 'That is what I'll be analyzing during the next court hearing,' the judge said, noting that despite the case garnering news coverage, 'the court will look at the evidence before it. Not anything else.' In late May, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers detained Morales-Reyes after receiving a letter purporting to be from him threatening to kill Trump before self-deporting. Police quickly suspected a setup and, from reviewing jailhouse phone calls, discovered that a man who allegedly assaulted Morales-Reyes in 2023 had orchestrated the letters in order to have the migrant deported, court records allege. State prosecutors have separately charged that man. This story has been updated with additional details.
CTV News
03-06-2025
- General
- CTV News
Man accused of trying to get witness against him deported by writing letters threatening Trump
People look through the fence at the White House, Tuesday, April 1, 2025, in Washington. (Alex Brandon / AP Photo) MILWAUKEE — A Wisconsin man is facing charges accusing him of forging a letter threatening U.S. President Donald Trump's life in an effort to get another man who was a potential witness against him in a criminal case 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 from 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. 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 Immigration and Customs Enforcement 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 defence 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. The Associated Press
The Independent
28-05-2025
- General
- The Independent
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.'
Daily Mail
27-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Biden aide alleges staff 'acted undemocratically' because of Trump
A longtime aide to former President Joe Biden shockingly admitted that insiders felt justified acting 'undemocratically' to keep the president in power because Donald Trump represented an 'existential threat' to democracy, a new book alleges. The jaw-dropping revelation came as Axios reporter Alex Thompson promoted his new book, Original Sin, co-authored with CNN 's Jake Tapper, about the health 'cover-up' surrounding Biden. During an appearance on Fox News , Thompson discussed the chilling dynamic inside Biden's White House from insiders he spoke to. Thompson wrote that an unelected official within the administration admitted that their hatred of Trump validated doing 'undemocratic things.' Fox News Sunday host Shannon Bream questioned Thompson about the anecdote, asking: 'Who would have been running the White House in a second Biden term?' Reading aloud from the book, Bream quoted an unnamed aide as saying: '[Biden] just had to win, and then he could disappear for four years. 'He'd only have to show proof of life every once in a while… His aides could pick up the slack.' Thompson revealed that the source 'went on to say that, when you're voting for a president, you're voting for the aides around him.' The book has sent shockwaves through Washington as it delves into Biden's decline in office. Amid questions over who was calling the shots during the octogenarian's presidency, the book alleges that a trio of senior political veterans worked with First Lady Jill Biden and troubled son Hunter to run the show. Mike Donilon, Steve Ricchetti and Bruce Reed were the core decision-makers, the book claims, adding that former senior adviser to the president Annie Tomasini and former White House chief of staff Ron Klain were also 'at times' part of the group. During his Fox News appearance, Thompson said he was stunned by the unnamed insider's argument that aides should run the White House as long as Donald Trump was not in power. 'These aides were not even Senate-confirmed aides,' he said. 'These are White House aides, these were unelected people. 'And one of the things that really I think comes out in our reporting here is that if you believe - and I think a lot of these people do sincerely believe that Donald Trump was and is an existential threat to democracy - you can rationalize anything. 'Including sometimes doing undemocratic things, which I think is what this person is talking about.' According to the book, both Jill and Hunter Biden were prominent and permanent fixtures within Biden's circle of trust, despite aides and insiders partially blaming Hunter for the president's rapid decline. 'To understand Joe Biden's deterioration, top aides told us, one has to know Hunter's struggles,' the book stated. While promoting the book, Tapper was asked about Hunter's role in the administration and influence over his father . Fueled by information garnered through interviews with more than 200 people for the book, Tapper responded: 'I think Hunter was driving the decision-making for the family in a way that people - he was almost like a chief-of-staff of the family. 'It's bizarre because I think he is provably, demonstrably unethical, sleazy, and prone to horrible decisions,' Tapper added. 'After his brother died, he cheated on his wife with his brother's widow and then got her addicted to crack. 'That's just one thing I could say. I mean, I don't have a lot of personal regard for him... I barely have ever met him. I've met him like once or twice.' Tapper also revealed his reaction to President Biden's shockingly disastrous debate performance against Donald Trump last June, which ultimately led to him dropping out of the presidential race. The CNN host, who moderated the debate, said he was so stunned by Biden's fumbling debate that he was messaging his producers to simply say 'holy smokes.' However, critics argue that Tapper himself was directly involved in the cover-up he is now dissecting. During a wide-ranging interview with Megyn Kelly earlier this month, Tapper accepted that he missed the mark during Biden's four-year term, but offered a glimpse into his shock while moderating the debate.
Times of Oman
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Times of Oman
James Comey interviewed over alleged 'threat' against Trump
Washington DC: Former FBI Director James Comey was interviewed on Friday by the US Secret Service following an Instagram post that supporters of President Donald Trump claimed was a veiled threat on the president's life. The now-deleted post showed seashells arranged to form the shapes "86 47." Comey posted it with a comment: "Cool shell formation on my beach walk." Trump supporters interpreted it as a call to harm the 47th president. Merriam-Webster dictionary says 86 is slang meaning "to throw out," "to get rid of" or "to refuse service to." The dictionary publisher also said one of the recent adoptions also means "to kill," although it adds: "We do not enter this sense, due to its relative recency and sparseness of use." Comey said he was unaware of any violent connotation, adding "I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down." Trump calls Comey 'dirty cop' Despite his explanation, Trump and top administration officials rejected Comey's defence. "He knew exactly what that meant," Trump said in an interview with Fox News on Friday. Labeling Comey a "dirty cop," Trump said the former FBI director was calling for the "assassination of the president." The president added that any legal action would be decided by Attorney General Pam Bondi. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed Comey's interview on X, saying she would "take all measures necessary to ensure the protection" of the president. Current FBI Director Kash Patel said the agency would "provide all necessary support." Meanwhile, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said, "We fully support the Secret Service investigation into Comey's threat on President Trump's life." Trump, Comey at loggerheads The president and the former FBI director have a contentious relationship. During his first term, Trump fired Comey in 2017, as the latter investigated the Trump 2016 presidential campaign's possible collusion with Russia.
