The Mexican nationwide claims the president induced him public embarrassment by exploiting his homicide case for political achieve
A Mexican nationwide serving a decades-long jail sentence for murdering a Michigan girl has filed a federal lawsuit towards US President Donald Trump, in search of $75 million in damages, a public apology, and American citizenship after claiming his case was exploited for political achieve.
Brandon Ortiz-Vite, 27, is serving a sentence of 39 to 102 years after pleading responsible to the homicide of Ruby Garcia in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 2024. Prosecutors mentioned he shot Garcia a number of instances earlier than abandoning her physique alongside a freeway and driving away in her automobile.
Ortiz-Vite had beforehand been deported from the US however later reentered the nation illegally.
In a handwritten grievance filed in federal courtroom, Ortiz-Vite named Trump and White Home communications director Steven Cheung as defendants. He alleges Trump turned him right into a nationwide image in the course of the 2024 presidential marketing campaign by repeatedly highlighting his case in speeches and commercials centered on unlawful immigration.
Throughout a marketing campaign occasion in Grand Rapids, Trump described Ortiz-Vite as “America’s downside” and later featured his mugshot in marketing campaign commercials referring to “murderers, rapists, and drug traffickers” residing illegally in america.
Brandon Ortiz-Vite was convicted of Ruby Garcia’s homicide in 2024. Now he is asking a federal choose to order President Trump to apologize for mentioning his case. https://t.co/VAhMqMovxn
— 13 On Your Aspect (@wzzm13) July 17, 2026
Within the lawsuit, Ortiz-Vite claims the publicity subjected him to harassment behind bars and decreased him to a stereotype.
“I used to be put right into a class. Who I used to be as an individual not mattered! What solely mattered was my race,” he wrote within the grievance.
Ortiz-Vite argued that Trump had unfairly politicized his case, claiming the publicity “belittled me, shattered my dignity and what I used to be as an individual.”
“The disgrace it dropped at my household title is a actuality I’ve to dwell with now,” he added.
Ortiz-Vite is in search of $75 million in damages, a public apology from Trump, and US citizenship. He alleges the president’s repeated references to his case induced him public humiliation.
Authorized consultants cited by US media have mentioned the lawsuit is unlikely to succeed. Former federal prosecutor Matthew Borgula mentioned federal courts are required to display screen prisoner lawsuits earlier than they will proceed and argued the grievance is unlikely to outlive that course of.
“Being publicly embarrassed by a politician isn’t a constitutional violation,” Borgula mentioned, including that Trump’s statements about Ortiz-Vite have been “considerably true.”
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