The Department of Homeland Security said this week that a migrant in the United States without legal status threatened to shoot and kill President Donald Trump and posted what appeared to be a threatening letter sent from the migrant to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent.
Ramon Morales Reyes allegedly wrote that he was going to shoot and kill Trump at one of his rallies and was arrested by ICE agents.
However, multiple law enforcement sources now say authorities are investigating whether the letter was sent by someone else in an attempt to frame him.
Reyes, 54, submitted to a handwriting test that did not match the letter’s writing.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem posted on X following his arrest to praise the agents and said she would “continue to take all measures necessary to ensure the protection of President Trump.”
“Thanks to our ICE officers, this illegal alien who threatened to assassinate President Trump is behind bars,” she added.
Noem has not commented on whether Reyes could have been framed.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with sailors and coast guardsmen at a Naval Support Activity, in Manama, Bahrain, May 24, 2025.
Alex Brandon via Reuters
Authorities said they believe Reyes was involved in a dispute with another man who is in jail on charges of threatening Trump and wanted to get Reyes deported to prevent him from testifying against him, sources said.
“The investigation into the threat is ongoing,” a senior DHS official told ABC News when asked about the case. “Over the course of the investigation, this individual was determined to be in the country illegally and that he had a criminal record. He will remain in custody.”
The Milwaukee Police Department, which is investigating the threat, told ABC News that it “is investigating an identity theft and victim intimidation incident related to this incident.”
A spokesperson for MPD said the department “will not be able to confirm names of the parties involved as the investigation is ongoing and no one has been criminally charged at this time.”
In the initial press release touting the arrest of Reyes, DHS said Reyes was in the country illegally at least nine times and has a violent criminal history.
“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 said after Reyes’ arrest.
“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 added.
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller prepares to take reporters’ questions outside the West Wing of the White House in Washington, May 9, 2025.
Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock, Files
The Secret Service, which investigates threats against the president, referred ABC News to DHS for comment.
The incident was first reported by CNN.
It comes as just last week, Stephen Miller, the deputy chief of staff at the White House, was at ICE headquarters alongside Noem and urged senior leaders at ICE and Homeland Security Investigations to step up their deportation efforts, according to sources familiar with the meeting.
The meeting was attended by senior ICE leaders and the special agents in charge of Homeland Security Investigations. Border czar Tom Homan was absent from the meeting.
Miller told senior ICE leaders that the Trump administration wants to triple the daily number of arrests agents were making up to 3,000 per day, according to sources.
