On a quiet May morning in Milwaukee, Ramón Morales-Reyes did what he did every school day: he dropped his child off at the school gates, kissed them goodbye, and turned to start his day. He had no idea that within minutes, federal agents would surround him, handcuff him, and pull him away from his family—or that his name would soon be splashed across national headlines with an accusation so shocking it would upend his entire life.
Morales-Reyes, a 56-year-old undocumented immigrant from Mexico who had spent over a decade working as a dishwasher at a local Chili’s, was arrested by immigration agents on May 22, 2025. At first, his family assumed it was a routine immigration enforcement action. But six days later, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued a press release that made international news: Morales-Reyes was accused of penning a letter threatening to assassinate President Donald Trump. The agency posted his photograph across the White House and the president’s official social media channels, presenting him as a would-be assassin.
There was just one problem: the accusation was false, and investigators knew it.
According to a legal claim filed by Morales-Reyes’ family, local and federal investigators had already concluded that Morales-Reyes was likely framed before DHS went public with its explosive allegations. The real culprit, a Milwaukee man named Demetric Scott, would later confess to writing the threatening letter in an effort to prevent Morales-Reyes from testifying against him in an armed robbery case.
“Instead of waiting for law enforcement to complete their investigation, which exonerated Mr. Morales-Reyes, DHS thrusted Mr. Morales-Reyes into the national spotlight with its false statements,” the family’s legal claim reads.
Now, Morales-Reyes’ family is preparing to sue the federal government for $5.5 million in damages, accusing DHS and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement of intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress under the Federal Tort Claims Act. The legal claim, filed on August 31, is a formal notice of intent to sue, giving the government six months to respond before the family can proceed with a lawsuit.
The Letter That Wasn’t
The chain of events that led to Morales-Reyes’ arrest began with a handwritten letter, written in English and addressed to immigration agents. In it, the author threatened to shoot President Trump in the head with a gun. The letter was signed with Morales-Reyes’ name.
But when local and federal investigators interviewed Morales-Reyes shortly after his arrest, they hit a glaring obstacle: Morales-Reyes does not speak English. He couldn’t have written the letter, let alone composed a detailed threat in a language he didn’t understand.
Investigators quickly zeroed in on Demetric Scott, a 53-year-old Milwaukee resident who was facing charges of armed robbery for stabbing Morales-Reyes and stealing his bicycle. Morales-Reyes was set to testify against Scott at his upcoming trial—a prospect that Scott apparently found threatening enough to try to eliminate the witness by any means necessary.
During questioning on May 30, Scott confessed to a police detective that he wrote the letter. According to the criminal complaint, “The defendant admitted that his intention was not to go after President Trump, rather, to prevent (Ramón Morales-Reyes) from testifying at his trial.”
Scott was found not guilty of armed robbery but guilty of bail jumping, recklessly endangering safety, identity theft, and witness intimidation. He was sentenced to 16 and a half years in prison, followed by 13 years of extended supervision.
The family’s legal claim argues that DHS “either knew or should have known” that the letter was falsified. It points out that an agent with the U.S. Secret Service, which operates under DHS, was present at the May 22 interview when investigators learned Morales-Reyes was likely framed, according to a search warrant for Scott’s jail cell.
“Publicizing these false statements was not only a spit in the face to on-the-ground law enforcement who had been diligently unraveling a plan to misuse our immigration system,” the claim states. “It also fell well below the applicable standard of care.”
Living Under a False Cloud
For Anna Morales, the 25-year-old daughter of Ramón Morales-Reyes, the nightmare began when a friend called her with the news. She remembers shaking as she watched national TV coverage accusing her father of threatening to assassinate the president.
“I knew it wasn’t true, but I couldn’t believe what I was seeing either,” she said in an interview on August 31.
The emotional toll has been devastating. Anna says her father’s depression and anxiety have worsened dramatically since the false accusations, and he now requires a higher dose of medication to manage his symptoms. He can’t sleep, his memory has become foggy, and he constantly tells his daughter he feels “useless.”
“He feels that he’s not doing enough, and that’s so understandable because right now he cannot work,” Anna said.
Morales-Reyes was released from ICE detention in June but still faces deportation proceedings. As an undocumented immigrant, he is barred from working legally, which means the financial burden has fallen entirely on his wife. The family, once sustained by Morales-Reyes’ steady job at Chili’s, now struggles to make ends meet.
The trauma extends beyond financial strain. Morales-Reyes lives in constant fear that people who believe DHS’s false claims might try to harm him. The family’s legal claim describes “an immeasurable amount of online harassment” directed at Morales-Reyes and his family, and accuses DHS of assisting Scott in “revictimizing” Morales-Reyes.
“Mr. Morales-Reyes is not able to sleep, his memory is foggier, and he feels profoundly helpless,” the claim reads.
A Government’s Responsibility
Morales-Reyes’ family is being represented by attorneys Cain Oulahan and Mark Thomsen, who argue that DHS’s reckless actions violated the most basic standards of governmental conduct.
“As a country, we teach our children that the essence of leadership is truth, and you don’t lie,” Thomsen said. “And then we have, with Ramón and his family, the most profound kind of lie.”
While DHS has since added a disclaimer at the bottom of its original press release stating that Morales-Reyes is no longer under investigation for threats against Trump, the agency has not acknowledged that he was framed. The original press release and social media posts remain online, continuing to taint Morales-Reyes’ reputation.
DHS did not respond to requests for comment.
Morales-Reyes’ legal troubles are far from over. He still faces possible deportation, with a hearing before an immigration judge scheduled for December 11. His family has applied for a U-visa, which grants temporary legal status to undocumented victims and witnesses of certain violent crimes if they cooperate with law enforcement. However, the pending application does not protect him from deportation, and a decision can take up to eight years.
For now, the legal claim against the federal government is a glimmer of hope for a family that has been through an unimaginable ordeal. It is, as Thomsen put it, a way to demand accountability.
“The least this government can do is to make amends,” Thomsen said. “That’s what this claim is about. It’s about doing the right thing.”
As Morales-Reyes waits for his immigration hearing and the government’s response to the claim, his family holds onto one belief: that the truth will eventually prevail, and that those who wronged them will be held responsible.
“My father is a good man,” Anna Morales said. “He just wants to live his life and provide for his family. He never hurt anyone. And now, because of a lie, his whole life has been turned upside down.”
