MADISON, Wis. — A Wisconsin man, Ramo?n Morales Reyes, who was wrongly accused of planning to assassinate President Donald Trump and faced potential deportation to Mexico, was freed from jail on Thursday after posting bond. His imprisonment followed an arrest by federal immigration officers three weeks prior.
The accusation stemmed from a social media post by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, which alleged Morales Reyes authored a letter threatening Trump. The post spread widely, accompanying a photo of Morales Reyes and part of the letter supposedly in his handwriting. However, Wisconsin authorities quickly discovered that the claim against him was a fabrication. Morales Reyes, who has limited English skills, was framed, and did not write the letter.
The sequence of events dates back to 2023, when Morales Reyes became a victim of a violent attack, involving the theft of his bicycle. The real letter-writer, Demetric D. Scott, allegedly forged the letter to distract from his charges. Morales Reyes was expected to testify against Scott in July, during his trial for armed robbery and aggravated battery.
After paying a $7,500 bond set by an immigration judge on Tuesday, Morales Reyes was released. In an interview with WISN-TV, he expressed determination to contest his deportation proceedings. He stated, “I believe my lawyer understands and everyone knows the truth of what happened.”
Upon his release, Morales Reyes was received by family members and advocates from Milwaukee’s immigrant rights group Voces de la Frontera, which has been instrumental in his defense. Christine Neumann-Ortiz, executive director of the organization, shared that Morales Reyes felt “relieved” and “grateful for the support he has received.”
During an immigration court hearing in Chicago, Judge Carla Espinoza indicated that Morales Reyes posed no community threat. Married and a father to three children with U.S. citizenship, he works as a dishwasher in Milwaukee. His arrest occurred shortly after he dropped off one of his children at school.
Having immigrated from Mexico during the 1980s without documentation, Morales Reyes applied this year for a U visa, designed for immigrants in the U.S. unlawfully who have been victims of significant crimes. The process for securing such a visa can be prolonged.
Despite being cleared of the charges linked to threatening President Trump, Homeland Security announced that federal lawyers would still pursue the immigration case against him, citing multiple unauthorized entries into the U.S.
Morales Reyes had been held at the Dodge Detention Center in Juneau, located roughly 70 miles north of Milwaukee. His release occurred after the federal government chose not to appeal the bond decision. Meanwhile, Noem’s post, spreading the false accusation of an assassination plot by Morales Reyes, continues to circulate online among Trump supporters.