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Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
US man charged for framing immigrant in fake plot to kill Trump
Prosecutors in Milwaukee have charged a man with four felonies for attempting to frame an undocumented immigrant he is accused of assaulting, by sending forged letters in the immigrant's name with a threat to kill Donald Trump. The handwritten, forged letters were mailed to Wisconsin's attorney general, Milwaukee police and US Immigration & Customs Enforcement (Ice). The story received a flood of media attention and was highlighted by the White House and Trump's allies, but appears to have been a hoax. WISN-TV, an ABC affiliate in Milwaukee, reported on Monday that a criminal complaint alleges Demetric Scott admitted to investigators he wrote the letters threatening to kill the president in the name of Ramon Morales-Reyes, whom he was previously charged with assaulting. Related: Undocumented man accused of making threat to Trump's life may be victim of frame-up Among those who fell for the hoax were Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, who released a statement praising immigration officers for arresting Morales-Reyes on 22 May, one day after the forged letter was received by an Ice field intelligence officer. 'Thanks to our ICE officers, this illegal alien who threatened to assassinate President Trump is behind bars,' Noem said in a press release. Her department also released to news agencies an image of the handwritten note in light blue ink, expressing anger over Trump's deportations and threatening to shoot him in the head with a rifle at a rally. Noem also shared the letter on X along with a photo of Morales-Reyes, and the White House also shared it on its social media accounts. '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,' the letter said. 'I will self deport myself back to Mexico but not before I use my 30 yard 6 to shoot your precious president in the head – I will see him at one of his big ralleys.' But the claim soon began to unravel. Last week, one of Morales-Reyes' children told an immigrant rights group that he could not have written the letters since he cannot read or write in Spanish, let alone English. As part of the investigation, officials asked Morales-Reyes for a handwriting sample and concluded his handwriting and the threatening letter didn't match and that the threat was not credible, a source familiar with the investigation told the Associated Press. Scott is currently in Milwaukee county jail, charged with armed robbery and aggravated battery. Prosecutors said Morales-Reyes is the victim in that case; he was allegedly assaulted in September 2023 with a box cutter during an attempted theft of his bike. As the case prepared to go to trial, Ice this month received the letter threatening to assassinate Trump. According to a transcript of a phone call prosecutors say Scott made while awaiting trial for assaulting Morales-Reyes, Scott framed Morales-Reyes to keep him from testifying against him. 'If he gets picked up by Ice,' Scott allegedly said in the call, 'there won't be a jury trial, so they will probably dismiss it that day. That's my plan.' 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 carved out for people in the country illegally who become victims of serious crimes, according to his attorney. Morales-Reyes remains in Ice detention at a facility in Juneau, Wisconsin. José Olivares and Associated Press contributed reporting
USA Today
05-05-2025
- USA Today
A Wisconsin woman went missing 62 years ago. Police just found her 'alive and well.'
A Wisconsin woman went missing 62 years ago. Police just found her 'alive and well.' A woman reported missing 62 years ago out of southwest Wisconsin has been found alive and well, authorities announced. In July 1962, Audrey Backeberg was 20 years old when she was reported missing out of Reedsburg in Sauk County, Wisconsin, about 63 miles northwest of Madison. She also had two children at the time, per historical newspaper reports. Investigators followed multiple leads to find her, to no avail, the Sauk County Sheriff's Office said in a news release. In early 2025, the office assigned the cold case to a detective for 'a comprehensive review,' Sheriff Chip Meister said in the news release. It was part of the office's attempt to examine multiple cold case files. The office used to find her, reported television station WISN-TV. 'The Sheriff's Office is now able to report that Audrey Backeberg is alive and well and currently resides out of state,' the sheriff wrote. 'Further investigation has revealed that Ms. Backeberg's disappearance was by her own choice and not the result of any criminal activity or foul play.' The sheriff's office did not immediately reply to USA TODAY's requests for comment, and the office did not say what state she lives in currently. Young mother previously filed charges against husband Prior to a missing person's report being filed, Backeberg was last seen on July 7, 1962, reported the Baraboo News Republic. She picked up her paycheck that day and that was the last time loved ones saw her, the newspaper reported. On July 4, 1962, just three days before she left town, police received a report that her husband abused and threatened to end her life, the newspaper reported. Her husband was granted a divorce in 1963, the year after she went missing, according to a Wisconsin State Journal record from Nov. 24, 1963. Police also spoke to a 14-year-old girl who Backeberg had allegedly babysat. The girl told police she and Backeberg planned to run away. They took a bus to Indianapolis. However, the girl got sick and told police she was a runaway, reported the Baraboo News Republic. The girl last saw Backeberg as she crossed the street in Indianapolis. In May 2002, investigators announced plans to search a Sauk County property where an informant said her body was buried. Then-sheriff Randy Stammen said police weren't sure what happened to the woman. "We don't know if she's simply a missing person living a life somewhere else," Stammen said. "We do now there has been no activity on her social security number. The question still comes back to, is she just a missing person?" Hannah Kobayashi: Woman issues first statement after returning to US, says 'I am still processing it all' Detective: Ancestry allowed us to solve case Det. Isaac Hanson of the Shauk County Sheriff's Office began working the case in early March, reported WISN-TV. According to Hanson, Backeberg's sister had an account he was able to use to track down the missing woman. 'That was pretty key in locating death records, census reports, all kinds of data," Hanson told WISN-TV. "Ultimately, we came up with an address ... So I called the local sheriff's department, said 'Hey, there's this lady living at this address. Do you guys have somebody, you can just go pop in?'' Ten minutes later, Backeberg called him and they spoke for 45 minutes, he said. And while her abusive husband may have led her to leave, the lingering question of what made her go so long without contacting anyone may always remain. "I think she just was removed and … moved on from things and kind of did her own thing and led her life," he said. "She sounded happy. Confident in her decision. No regrets." Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY's NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. Email her at sdmartin@
CBS News
28-03-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Elon Musk vows to hand out $1 million each to 2 voters in Wisconsin Supreme Court race
Billionaire Elon Musk said he plans to hold a rally in Wisconsin to "personally hand over" $2 million to a pair of voters who have already cast their ballots in the state's hotly contested Supreme Court race , despite a state law that prohibits giving anything of value in exchange for voting. Musk posted late Thursday night on his social media platform, X, that he plans to give $1 million each to two voters at the event on Sunday, just two days before the election that will determine ideological control of the court . Attendance at Musk's talk will be limited only to those who have voted in the Supreme Court election, he said, without explaining how he would verify that. "I will also personally hand over two checks for a million dollars each in appreciation for you taking the time to vote," Musk posted. "This is super important." He didn't say how the two people were chosen. The Supreme Court race has shattered previous spending records for a U.S. judicial election and has become a referendum on Musk and the first months of President Donald Trump's administration. Trump, a Republican, endorsed Brad Schimel and hosted a telephone town hall with him on Thursday night. "It's a very important race," Trump said in brief remarks by phone, in a call organized by Schimel's campaign. "I know you feel it's local, but it's not. It's really much more than local. The whole country is watching." Schimel, a Waukesha County judge, faces Dane County Judge Susan Crawford in Tuesday's election. Crawford is backed by a wide range of Democrats, including the liberal justices who hold a 4-3 majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court and former President Barack Obama. The retirement this year of a liberal justice puts majority control of the court in play. Musk earlier this week said he had awarded a voter in Green Bay $1 million for signing a petition his political action committee created targeting activist judges. Andrew Romeo, a spokesperson for Musk's political action committee, declined to say whether that person was one of the two who would be receiving $1 million on Sunday. Musk promised $100 to any registered Wisconsin voter who signed the petition or forwarded it to someone who did. That raised questions about whether the petition violated Wisconsin law that makes it a felony to offer, give, lend or promise to lend or give anything of value to induce a voter to cast a ballot or not vote. Any legal challenge to Musk's payments could end up before the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Schimel's campaign spokesperson did not immediately return a message early Friday about whether Schimel would attend the event with Musk. Schimel, a former attorney general, was asked about the petition on Thursday by WISN-TV. "I, frankly, thought, 'Should I sign that petition? I'm against activist judges, but I don't think I should do that,'" Schimel said. When asked about the $1 million award, Schimel said, "I don't know what the criteria to get it was." Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul, a Democrat, didn't respond to messages Thursday or early Friday about Musk's giveaways. Crawford's campaign spokesperson Derrick Honeyman, though, called Musk's visit to Wisconsin a "last-minute desperate distraction." "Wisconsinites don't want a billionaire like Musk telling them who to vote for, and, on Tuesday, voters should reject Musk's lackey Brad Schimel," he said. Musk's political action committee used a nearly identical tactic before the White House election last year, offering to pay $1 million a day to voters in Wisconsin and six other battleground states who signed a petition supporting the First and Second Amendments . During last year's presidential race, Philadelphia's district attorney sued in an attempt to stop the payments under Pennsylvania law. But a judge said prosecutors failed to show the effort was an illegal lottery and allowed it to continue through Election Day. Musk and groups he funds have already spent more than $20 million in an effort to elect Schimel, while billionaire George Soros has given $2 million to bolster Crawford, and Democratic Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker has donated $1.5 million. Musk got involved in the race just days after his electric car company, Tesla, filed a lawsuit against Wisconsin in an effort to open dealerships in the state. Crawford and her allies have accused Musk of trying to buy influence on the court given that Tesla's lawsuit could end up before the justices. The race comes as the Wisconsin Supreme Court is also expected to rule on abortion rights, congressional redistricting, union power and voting rules that could affect the 2026 midterms and the 2028 presidential election. Wisconsin is one of a handful of true battleground states, which only intensifies the focus on court races where rules for voting will be decided. Trump won Wisconsin in 2016 and 2024 by less than a percentage point, but he lost it in 2020 by a similar margin. Five of the past seven presidential elections in the state have been decided by less than a percentage point. More than $81 million has been spent on the Supreme Court race so far, obliterating the record for a judicial race in the U.S. of $51 million set in Wisconsin just two years ago, according to Brennan Center tallies.
Los Angeles Times
28-03-2025
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
Musk promises to go to Wisconsin to personally deliver $2 million to voters in Supreme Court race
MADISON, Wis. — Billionaire Elon Musk said he plans to hold a rally in Wisconsin to 'personally hand over' $2 million to a pair of voters who have already cast their ballots in the state's hotly contested Supreme Court race, despite a state law that prohibits giving anything of value in exchange for voting. Musk posted late Thursday night on his social media platform, X, that he plans to give $1 million each to two voters at the event on Sunday, just two days before the election that will determine ideological control of the court. Attendance at Musk's talk will be limited only to those who have voted in the Supreme Court election, he said, without explaining how he would verify that. 'I will also personally hand over two checks for a million dollars each in appreciation for you taking the time to vote,' Musk posted. 'This is super important.' He didn't say how the two people were chosen. The Supreme Court race has shattered previous spending records for a U.S. judicial election and has become a referendum on Musk and the first months of President Trump's administration. Trump has endorsed Brad Schimel, a Republican, and hosted a telephone town hall with him on Thursday night. 'It's a very important race,' Trump said in brief remarks by phone, in a call organized by Schimel's campaign. 'I know you feel it's local, but it's not. It's really much more than local. The whole country is watching.' Schimel, a Waukesha County judge, faces Dane County Judge Susan Crawford in Tuesday's election. Crawford is backed by a wide range of Democrats, including the liberal justices who hold a 4-3 majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court and former President Obama. The retirement this year of a liberal justice puts majority control of the court in play. Musk earlier this week said he had awarded a voter in Green Bay $1 million for signing a petition his political action committee created targeting activist judges. Andrew Romeo, a spokesperson for Musk's political action committee, declined to say whether that person was one of the two who would be receiving $1 million on Sunday. Musk promised $100 to any registered Wisconsin voter who signed the petition or forwarded it to someone who did. That raised questions about whether the petition violated Wisconsin law that makes it a felony to offer, give, lend or promise to lend or give anything of value to induce a voter to cast a ballot or not vote. Any legal challenge to Musk's payments could end up before the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Schimel's campaign spokesperson did not immediately return a message Friday about whether Schimel would attend the event with Musk. Schimel, a former attorney general, was asked about the petition on Thursday by WISN-TV. 'I, frankly, thought, 'Should I sign that petition? I'm against activist judges, but I don't think I should do that,'' Schimel said. When asked about the $1-million award, Schimel said, 'I don't know what the criteria to get it was.' Wisconsin Atty. Gen. Josh Kaul, a Democrat, didn't respond to messages about Musk's giveaways. Crawford's campaign spokesperson Derrick Honeyman, though, called Musk's visit to Wisconsin a 'last-minute desperate distraction.' 'Wisconsinites don't want a billionaire like Musk telling them who to vote for, and, on Tuesday, voters should reject Musk's lackey Brad Schimel,' he said. Musk's political action committee used a nearly identical tactic before the White House election last year, offering to pay $1 million a day to voters in Wisconsin and six other battleground states who signed a petition supporting the 1st and 2nd Amendments. During last year's presidential race, Philadelphia's district attorney sued in an attempt to stop the payments under Pennsylvania law. But a judge said prosecutors failed to show the effort was an illegal lottery and allowed it to continue through election day. Musk and groups he funds have already spent more than $20 million in an effort to elect Schimel, while billionaire George Soros has given $2 million to bolster Crawford, and Democratic Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker has donated $1.5 million. Musk got involved in the race just days after his electric car company, Tesla, filed a lawsuit against Wisconsin in an effort to open dealerships in the state. Crawford and her allies have accused Musk of trying to buy influence on the court given that Tesla's lawsuit could end up before the justices. The race comes as the Wisconsin Supreme Court is also expected to rule on abortion rights, congressional redistricting, union power and voting rules that could affect the 2026 midterms and the 2028 presidential election. Wisconsin is one of a handful of true battleground states, which only intensifies the focus on court races where rules for voting will be decided. Trump won Wisconsin in 2016 and 2024 by less than a percentage point, but he lost it in 2020 by a similar margin. Five of the past seven presidential elections in the state have been decided by less than a percentage point. More than $81 million has been spent on the Supreme Court race so far, obliterating the record for a judicial race in the U.S. of $51 million set in Wisconsin just two years ago, according to Brennan Center tallies. Bauer writes for the Associated Press.
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Testy moments, abortion and billionaires. Takeaways from the Wisconsin Supreme Court debate
Supreme Court candidates Brad Schimel and Susan Crawford crossed swords repeatedly during a testy Wednesday debate, arguing with one another about abortion, union rights and Elon Musk. "That's a lie," Schimel, a conservative Waukesha County judge, said at one point. At another, Crawford, a liberal Dane County judge, accused Schimel of backing away from his support of an 1849 abortion ban. Schimel, meanwhile, suggested that Crawford was retreating in her opposition to voter ID and Act 10 public union law, two measures that she went to court to try to overturn. Both also tried to distance themselves from their biggest financial supporters — Musk in Schimel's case and Democratic megadonor George Soros for Crawford. "Elon Schimel is trying to buy this race, and people are very upset about that," Crawford said. The debate is the first and only time the two candidates face off before the April 1 election. The event was hosted and moderated by Matt Smith and Gerron Jordan, co-hosts of the station's public affairs show "UPFRONT" on WISN-TV (Channel 12). The two are vying for the seat being vacated in the upcoming departure of liberal Justice Ann Walsh Bradley, who is not seeking re-election. All seven members of the Supreme Court attended the debate at Marquette University. The partisan spending and advocacy in the only nominally nonpartisan race have highlighted the stakes of the election, in which voters will decide whether liberals or conservatives control the state's highest court. Here are takeaways from the debate: The debate comes just a week after the release of a Marquette University Law School poll that found a large percentage of Wisconsin voters still don't have an opinion about the two candidates. Schimel was viewed favorably by 29% of the registered voters and unfavorably by 32%. About two out of five said they had no opinion of him. Crawford was given favorable ratings by 19% of the voters, compared to 23% who viewed her unfavorably. Nearly three out of five said they don't know enough about her. Crawford attacked her opponent early in the debate for weighing in on Supreme Court cases before the election, pointing at his past comments on the 1849 abortion ban. She noted that he once said the measure was "valid." But Schimel said he simply meant the bill had been passed by both houses of the Legislature and signed by the governor. The question, he said, is whether the law reflects the will of the voters today. He has said he would support a referendum on abortion, though the state doesn't have a system that allows voters to pass legislation on their own. "My opponent has said he believes the 1849 law in Wisconsin is valid law." Crawford said. "He's trying to backpeddle from that position now." Overall, Crawford and Schimel are deeply divided on the issue of abortion. Schimel opposes abortion but recently said he would respect voters' "will" on the issue. Crawford has called the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade that struck down the constitutional right to abortion "wrong." And she says she's proud of her record "fighting for our fundamental rights and freedoms." The Supreme Court will decide soon whether it believes an 1849 abortion ban is the law of the state. Schimel has come under criticism for saying that the liberal majority, made up of four women, were "driven by their emotions" during oral arguments. He has said he did not point to the justices' gender while leveling the criticism. Both candidates have said they will not let their personal beliefs affect their rulings if elected to the high court. Schimel emphasized repeatedly that he doesn't control how outside groups and individuals, including Musk, express their support for him. He declined to disavow his backing from Musk. "I'm looking for the endorsement of the Wisconsin voters," Schimel said. He said he would treat Musk like anyone else if he were to appear in his courtroom. But Schimel attacked Crawford for her support from Soros, saying he had favored defunding police and allowing felons on the streets. "He's a dangerous person," Schimel said. Crawford turned the conversation back to Musk. She said he has made cuts to the federal government that could have an impact on people, including trimming the number of air traffic controllers and those studying avian flu. "Talk about somebody who's been dangerous,," Crawford said. Two Musk-funded groups — America PAC and Building America's Future — have spent more than $10 million helping Schimel in the race by airing TV and digital ads, canvassing and texting. America PAC, Musk's super PAC, has tried to turn the race into a forum on President Donald Trump by saying Schimel will support the Republican president's agenda on the court. Musk has become a highly controversial figure nationally for slashing the federal government in his role as head of Trump's Department of Government Efficiency. Musk, the wealthiest person in the world, spent some $288 million helping Trump's election victory in November, including paying for voter outreach in Wisconsin. For her part, Crawford has come under fire for receiving money from prominent billionaires, including $1 million from Soros, $500,000 from Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and $250,000 from LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, donations to the state Democratic Party that were funneled to Crawford's campaign. Schimel criticized Crawford for the sentence she handed down in a case involving someone who repeatedly raped a 5-year-old. He said the victim had to testify at trial, and a jury convicted the man. But under the sentence handed down by Crawford, the felon spent only two years behind bars after sentencing. "This is a dangerous flaw in my opponent's judgment," Schimel said. Crawford pushed back, saying her opponent and other conservative groups are hitting her over her sentences in two cases. She said both individuals are still on extended supervision and will be on the sex offender registry the rest of their lives. Neither individual, she said, has re-offended. She said the same could not be said in some of Schimel's cases. "They have focused on two cases out of thousands that have handled, where I sentence people to prison and then follow that with several years of extended supervision," she said. In fact, both sides have criticized the other as being soft on crime. At the debate, the two even got into whether Crawford was officially a prosecutor when she worked at the Justice Department. She said she was, while he said she was not. As she has throughout the campaign, Crawford accused Schimel of failing to test more than 6,000 rape kits during his first two years as attorney general. These kits contain forensic evidence collected from a sexual assault victim at a hospital. Earlier this year, Supreme Court Justice Jill Karofsky, who used to work for Schimel, said he did not ask his fellow Republicans who controlled the state Legislature and the Governor's Office for funds to more rapidly move testing forward. Karofsky is backing Crawford in the race. Crawford said Schimel spent too much time focusing on pursuing "right-wing lawsuits" as attorney general instead of clearing the backlog of rape kits. "I am proud of the work that I've done, and I think it is important for voters to know about Brad Schimmels record, too," Crawford said. Schimel countered that the problem had accumulated over years. He said he needed time to inventory the kits and to find private labs to test them. His agency eventually secured a $4 million federal grant, and Schimel said his office tested more than 4,100 kits for which victims gave permission during his tenure. "About 3 1/2 years later, every kit that needed to be tested was done," he said. Crawford acknowledged that she had gone to court to try to block Act 10, the 2011 law that ended collective bargaining for most Wisconsin public employee unions. She even told The Capital Times in 2018: "I fought against Act 10." A Dane County judge last year ruled that much of the law was unconstitutional, and the decision has been appealed. The case is expected to come to the state Supreme Court eventually. She said this is a different matter than the litigation she brought, so she wouldn't commit to recusing herself if the matter came before her on the Supreme Court. "It would depend on the specific facts in the case," she said. Schimel said it was clear what positions Crawford held on issues like Act 10, voter ID and abortion. "Now she backs off from things she was once proud of, campaigning as a judge," Schimel said. As the Republican attorney general, Schimel said he would defend Act 10 and stated that its restrictions shouldn't apply to police and firefighter unions. While in private practice, Crawford filed a lawsuit on behalf of the League of Women Voters to block the state law requiring voters to show photo identification. On one occasion, she likened the measure to a poll tax — the now-banned laws that imposed fees to prevent poor people, many of them racial minorities, from voting. On another occasion, she labeled it "draconian." But she has declined to state her opinion on the measure because she said she doesn't "take positions on issues that could end up before the Wisconsin Supreme Court." She has said her lawsuit helped make the voter ID law better, including by making the IDs free of charge. Schimel has been a strong supporter of the law, which the recent Milwaukee Law School Poll found had the support of 77% of those surveyed and was opposed by 22%. Alison Dirr can be reached at adirr@ Contact Daniel Bice at (414) 313-6684 or dbice@ Follow him on X at @DanielBice or on Facebook at This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin Supreme Court debate between Susan Crawfprd, Brad Schimel
