Man convicted in scheme to frame migrant for Trump assassination threat

A jury in Wisconsin has convicted a man of trying to frame an undocumented immigrant for attempted assassination of President Donald Trump, so he couldn't testify at his trial.

According to the Associated Press, "online court records show the Milwaukee County jury found 52-year-old Demetric Scott guilty of felony identity theft and witness intimidation after deliberating for most of the day. He represented himself during the three-day trial and was immediately taken into custody after the verdicts were read, leaving no way to reach him for comment on Thursday evening."

Per the report, "Mexican immigrant Ramon Morales Reyes was riding his bike in Milwaukee in September 2023 when Scott approached him and kicked him off the bike. He stabbed Morales Reyes with a box cutter before stealing the bike and riding away." Scott was swiftly arrested — but thought he had the perfect scheme to get out of trouble.

Scott wrote a series of letters to local officials, posing as Morales Reyes, threatening to assassinate Trump at a rally. He even bragged during a recorded jailhouse call that if Morales Reyes “gets picked up by ICE, there won’t be a jury trial so they will probably dismiss it that day. That’s my plan.”

Morales Reyes was initially arrested — and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem even posted his face on social media, triumphantly proclaiming his plan was thwarted — but Scott's plan quickly fell apart as police realized Morales Reyes could barely speak or write English, so he couldn't have written the letters. Scott ultimately admitted to the scheme.

The jury went on to acquit Scott of the underlying robbery and battery charges, but convicted him of reckless endangerment for kicking Morales Reyes off his bike. He was also convicted on one count of bail jumping because the attack happened while he was awaiting trial for a separate burglary charge. He faces up to 26 years in prison, and the burglary case is still pending.

Cain Oulahan, Morales Reyes' attorney, told the AP the married father of three has “been traumatized by going through all this, all these different levels that feel like victimization. He just wants to work and be with his family again.”