- A Wisconsin man was sentenced to 16.5 years for framing his robbery victim with assassination threats.
- Demetric Scott forged letters threatening President Trump to get his victim deported.
- The victim, a Mexican immigrant, was falsely arrested by federal authorities.
- Scott detailed the witness intimidation scheme in recorded jail calls.
- The case exposes how criminals can manipulate immigration enforcement.
A Wisconsin man’s elaborate plot to weaponize the federal immigration system against his own robbery victim has ended with a lengthy prison sentence, exposing a shocking attempt to manipulate justice and national politics. Demetric DeShawn Scott, 52, was sentenced to 16.5 years behind bars Friday for forging death threats against President Donald Trump in a scheme to have the key witness against him deported. This case reveals a disturbing intersection of street crime, courtroom manipulation, and the heated national debate over immigration enforcement.
A violent robbery and a calculated plan
According to court documents, the scheme began in September 2023 when Scott attacked Mexican immigrant Ramon Morales Reyes in Milwaukee. Scott kicked Morales Reyes off his bicycle, stabbed him with a box cutter, and stole the bike. Arrested hours later, Scott was jailed while awaiting trial. Facing a jury trial set for July 2024, Scott concocted a plan to eliminate the witness against him.
From his jail cell, Scott wrote multiple letters by hand to state and federal officials, posing as Morales Reyes and threatening to assassinate President Trump at a political rally. The letters, written in English, discussed immigration policy and contained violent threats. In recorded jail calls, Scott detailed his scheme. "I got a plan. I got a hell of a plan," he said on an April 27 call. In another, he stated, "This dude is a goddamn illegal immigrant and they just need to pick his ass up."
Federal authorities take the bait
The plan worked with alarming efficiency. Federal immigration authorities arrested Morales Reyes in May 2024 after he dropped his daughter off at school. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem publicly announced the arrest, stating, "Thanks to our ICE officers, this illegal alien who threatened to assassinate President Trump is behind bars." The arrest was touted as a success in immigration enforcement.
However, investigators quickly found inconsistencies. Morales Reyes, who moved to the U.S. in the 1980s, works as a dishwasher, is married, and has three U.S. citizen children. He does not read, write, or speak English fluently. A handwriting sample proved the threatening letters were not his. When asked who would want to frame him, Morales Reyes identified only one person: Demetric Scott.
The scheme unravels
Police listened to Scott’s jail calls, where he discussed mailing letters and finding addresses for government officials. "I need the Attorney General address in the state of Wisconsin," he said in one call. He explicitly linked the letters to his trial, saying, "Dude don’t come to court then they gonna have to dismiss my case." Confronted by a detective, Scott admitted he wrote the letters. He said his intention was not to target Trump but to prevent Morales Reyes from testifying. "When asked what was going through his head at the time of writing the letters, the defendant stated ‘Freedom,’" the complaint noted.
In a call to his mother after the interview, Scott celebrated, believing his plan had succeeded. "Out of all the time I’ve been in here, 19 months, his ass got what he deserve," Scott said. "He got deported the way he should’ve because he wasn’t supposed to be here anyway."
Fallout for a victim and a perpetrator
Morales Reyes was released on bond in June 2024 and remains in the U.S. with his family as he applies for a U-visa, available to crime victims, a process his attorney says can take up to eight years. The Department of Homeland Security website now includes a disclaimer on its news release, noting Morales Reyes is no longer under investigation for the threats but remains in deportation proceedings due to his immigration history.
At his sentencing, Scott acted as his own attorney and maintained his innocence. "I had never stolen a bike from anybody, and so I did what I did because he was trying to get a visa and get, become a citizen," he told a local television station. Asked if he had any regrets, he replied, "No, I don’t." Milwaukee County Judge Kristy Yang sentenced him to consecutive prison terms for felony identity theft, witness intimidation, and reckless endangerment.
This case serves as a jarring reminder of how easily the machinery of government can be manipulated for personal gain. A violent criminal exploited the charged political atmosphere surrounding immigration to attack his victim a second time, using the very federal agencies designed to protect national security as his unwitting tools. It underscores the vital need for thorough investigation over political expediency and the human cost when the system is used as a weapon. The real threat, it turns out, was not from a handwritten letter, but from a man in a jail cell who knew exactly which buttons to push.
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