An undocumented man who was accused by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) secretary, Kristi Noem, last week of threatening to assassinate Donald Trump in a letter may have been framed by someone accused of previously attacking the man, according to news reports.
Investigators are said to be looking into whether the letter was an attempt to get the man deported, to prevent him from testifying against his alleged attacker.
The extremely public accusation against the 54-year-old father of three, Ramon Morales-Reyes, led to his arrest and detention by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) officials.
News reports from CNN, ABC and the Associated Press detail Morales-Reyes’ case and how Noem’s highly publicized accusation against him appears to have unraveled. Prior to Noem accusing Morales-Reyes of threatening to kill the president, local investigators in Milwaukee were already reportedly investigating whether the letter was a setup.
Morales-Reyes was allegedly assaulted by a man in September 2023, who slashed him with a box cutter before stealing his bike. As the case prepared to go to trial, Ice this month received the letter threatening to assassinate Trump.