ICE Arrests Immigrant Who Allegedly Threatened to Shoot Trump in Letter
The immigrant allegedly said he would self-deport, but not before shooting the president.
Handout/(Photo by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement via Getty Images
A Mexican immigrant was arrested after allegedly threatening to shoot President Donald Trump in a handwritten letter, the Department of Homeland Security said Wednesday.
The DHS said Ramon Morales-Reyes, a 54-year-old immigrant who allegedly entered the U.S. illegally, wrote in a letter to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent that he would self-deport—but only after using his gun on the president.
“We are tired of this president messing with us Mexicans,” the letter read. “We have done more for this country than you white people—you have been deporting my family and I think it is time Donald J. Trump get what he has coming to him.”
An ICE agent allegedly received a handwritten letter in the mail from Ramon Morales Reyes on May 21.
Department of Homeland Security
“I will self-deport myself back to Mexico but not before I use my 30 yard 6 to shoot your precious president in his head—I will see him at one of his big rallies,” Morales-Reyes added, in an apparent reference to a .30-06 rifle.
The DHS said an ICE field intelligence officer received the letter in the mail on May 21. The following day, ICE arrested Morales-Reyes.
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The agency said Morales-Reyes entered the U.S. illegally “at least nine times” between 1998 and 2005, and that his criminal record includes arrests for felony hit and run, criminal damage to property, and disorderly conduct.
Morales-Reyes is held at the Dodge County Jail in Juneau, Wisconsin while awaiting his removal proceedings, the DHS said.
A day after the arrest was announced, however, CNN reported that a high-level law enforcement official said authorities determined Morales-Reyes did not write the letter based on an interview with him and a handwriting sample that didn’t match. The DHS said its investigation was ongoing.
Law enforcement believes the man, Ramon Morales Reyes, 54, never wrote the letter, which was sent to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement office and other law enforcement agencies, several sources familiar with the matter told CNN.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem noted in a statement that the letter came on the heels of a now-deleted Instagram post by former FBI Director James Comey that authorities perceived as a threat to the president’s life, as well as two assassination attempts on Trump last year.
“All politicians and members of the media should take notice of these repeated attempts on President Trump’s life and tone down their rhetoric,” she said. “I will continue to take all measures necessary to ensure the protection of President Trump.”
Over the weekend, the Justice Department said an American-German man was arrested over his threats to kill Trump in his social media posts and an attempt to firebomb the U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv.
Editor’s Note: This story was updated to reflect CNN’s new reporting on the case.
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