US man accused of framing another with Trump threat letter to get him deported
Wisconsin man allegedly forged Trump threats to target immigrant, charges say
A Wisconsin man is facing charges accusing him of forging a letter threatening US 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 lawyer, Robert Hampton III, did not immediately return an email from 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 does not speak English fluently, and obtained a handwriting sample from him that was different from the handwriting in the letters, according to court documents.