An undocumented immigrant has been detained after threatening to kill President Donald Trump before self-deporting to Mexico, authorities said.
Ramon Morales-Reyes, 54, allegedly entered the U.S. illegally from Mexico and sent a handwritten letter to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement stating that he intended to assassinate the president at one of his rallies.
He was arrested on May 22 after the arrival of the letter, which the Department of Homeland Security released on Wednesday afternoon.
“We are tired of this president messing with us Mexicans — 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,” Morales-Reyes wrote in the blue ink note. “I will self deport myself back to Mexico but not before I use my 30 yard 6 [sic] [gun] to shoot your precious president in [h]is head — I will see him at one of his big ralleys [sic],” the letter stated.
DHS said in a statement that Morales-Reyes entered the U.S. unlawfully at least nine times between 1998 and 2005, and that he has a criminal record that includes a felony hit and run, criminal property damage, and disorderly conduct linked to domestic abuse.
The department added that Morales-Reyes will be in custody at the Dodge County Jail in Juneau, Wisconsin, until his removal proceedings.
“Thanks to our ICE officers, this illegal alien who threatened to assassinate President Trump is behind bars,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement on Wednesday. “This threat comes not even a year after President Trump was shot in Butler, Pennsylvania and less than two weeks after former FBI Director Comey called for the President’s assassination.”
Noem’s “assassination” comment was referring to a social media post by James Comey, whom Trump fired in 2017, which showed “86 47” written using seashells on a beach. Some have interpreted the numbers as calling for violence against Trump, who’s the 47th president. But “86” is commonly known as a term meaning to throw someone out of an establishment, like a bar, for misbehavior, or to eliminate an item from a menu.
Comey has said that to interpret his Instagram post as a call for violence against the president is “crazy.” He has since deleted the post. “Even if I think it’s crazy, I don’t want to be associated with violence of any kind,” he said on MSNBC.
Noem also mentioned the July 13, 2024, assassination attempt against Trump during a rally when a bullet grazed the president’s ear. The Secret Service shot and killed the gunman.
“All politicians and members of the media should take notice of these repeated attempts on President Trump’s life and tone down their rhetoric,” said Noem. “I will continue to take all measures necessary to ensure the protection of President Trump.”
