Undocumented man framed for Trump, ICE threats; accused in court

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Demetric Scott

MILWAUKEE - The Milwaukee man accused of writing threatening letters while posing as an undocumented man pleaded not guilty and was bound over for trial on Tuesday.

In Court:

Prosecutors said 52-year-old Demetric Scott wrote letters threatening to kill President Donald Trump and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and sent those letters to Milwaukee officials. 

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It was later learned that Scott posed as Ramon Morales-Reyes, an undocumented man who was going to testify against Scott in a criminal trial.

Scott is charged with identity theft, witness intimidation and two counts of felony bail jumping. 

Intimidating letters

The backstory:

According to a criminal complaint, the Wisconsin Attorney General's Office, Milwaukee police chief and Milwaukee ICE Office all received handwritten letters in the mail on May 21.

The letters appeared to be written by the same person and, although not exactly the same, all wrote about immigration policy and threatening to kill ICE agents or Trump, according to court filings. The return addresses were handwritten on the envelopes in blue ink. The name and address on each of the envelopes were correctly written for Morales-Reyes. 

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Interview with Morales-Reyes

What they're saying:

The complaint said ICE agents arrested Morales-Reyes in Milwaukee because his name was on the envelopes. Detectives interviewed him with the help of a translator because he did not read, write or speak fluent English.

A handwritten note from Morales-Reyes was taken and photographed as part of the investigation. The complaint states it showed completely different handwriting than what was on the letters and envelopes.

Morales-Reyes and family

When asked if anyone would want him to get in trouble, court filings said Morales-Reyes told authorities that the only person would be the person who had robbed him. Prosecutors said Scott was arrested and charged with robbing Morales-Reyes in 2023.

Scott's confession

Dig deeper:

A detective interviewed Scott on May 30, a little more than a week after the letters were received. The complaint states Scott admitted he wrote everything in the letters and envelopes himself without any assistance.

When asked what was going through his head at the time of writing the letters, court filings said Scott replied: "freedom." He said there were a total of five sealed envelopes with letters inside of them, and he admitted that his intention was not to go after Trump – rather, to prevent Morales-Reyes from testifying at his trial.