MILWAUKEE — Questions surround the accuracy of the government's claim that a Milwaukee man in the country illegally threatened to assassinate President Donald Trump.
Federal agents arrested 54-year-old Ramon Morales-Reyes on May 21 shortly after he finished dropping his daughter off at school on Milwaukee's south side.
Later, on May 28, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem shared a photo of a handwritten letter that DHS officials say Morales-Reyes wrote. It read in part, "We are tired of you messing with us Mexicans," and "I think it is time Donald J. Trump get what he has coming for him," adding a threat to "shoot your precious president in his head."
On Friday, Attorneys representing Morales-Reyes and his family said it is impossible that he wrote this letter, because he is not fluent in English. They fear it may be a setup.
"After looking at what was posted and what I know of Ramon, there's just really no way it could be even remotely true," said Kime Abduli, Attorney for Ramon Morales-Reyes. "This is just false, and we're here to try and clarify his name and try to get information out there that this really could not have been something that Ramon could have said or written."
Watch: Is he a threat or a victim? Undocumented Milwaukee man's arrest sparks controversy over alleged Trump threat
Morales-Reyes is in the U.S. on a U-Visa, which is a visa that gives undocumented people some protections if they are victims of certain crimes and cooperate with law enforcement in an investigation.
Morales-Reyes is a victim of a crime, and his attorneys warn that this could be a setup to get him deported before he testifies in court.
"Whether it may have been the defendant in the case where Ramon is a witness or if it was someone else related to him, at this point, we don't have enough information to say. It's kind of an ongoing investigation right now," said Abduli.
His attorney is calling on DHS to issue a clarification or correction as they say they're worried about their safety after what they say are false accusations that he wrote this letter.
On Friday, the Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) confirmed they're investigating an identity theft and victim intimidation incident related to this incident.
Milwaukee's Common Council released a joint statement saying the "false statement continues to fuel anti-immigrant sentiment."
"Earlier this week, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary issued a statement condemning an immigrant from Milwaukee for issuing a death threat to the President," the statement said. "It came to light shortly thereafter that the person in question did not write this letter, and in fact was the victim of a crime. Making matters more disturbing, it is being investigated as to whether the perpetrator of this crime intentionally sent the falsified letter to ICE in an attempt to have this person deported before they could testify in court. The Department of Homeland Security’s top priority should be protecting the people of this country. In this instance, they did the exact opposite. Their quick-triggered incorrect statement caused a man and his family to receive death threats and for him to be detained for something he did not do, while further fueling the anti-immigrant sentiment being pushed at the national level. All things that undermine what should be the department’s chief priority of promoting public safety."
Morales-Reyes remains in custody in Wisconsin.
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