Convicted Killer Sues Trump for $75 Million, Apology, and Citizenship Over Campaign Remarks

Brandon Ortiz-Vite, 27, filed a handwritten complaint in federal court against President Trump and White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Steven Cheung, the New York Post reported. He seeks $75 million, a public apology and U.S. citizenship.

Ortiz-Vite is serving a 39- to 102-year sentence after pleading guilty to second-degree murder in the March 2024 killing of Ruby Garcia in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Garcia’s body, which had several gunshot wounds, was found dumped along a road. The two were in a romantic relationship and had been arguing at the time of the slaying.

Ortiz-Vite turned himself in on March 26, 2024, and confessed. The complaint alleges that national attention to the case, including remarks by Trump during a 2024 visit to Grand Rapids, caused humiliation. Trump called Ortiz-Vite “America’s problem” and featured his mugshot in commercials describing “murderers, rapists, and drug traffickers” who resided illegally in the United States, according to the New York Post.

Ortiz-Vite, who acted as his own attorney, wrote that he was mocked by prison staff and inmates and that his case became a “high-profile” political talking point. com reported. He was deported after a 2020 arrest for driving while intoxicated.

Matthew Borgula, a criminal defense attorney and former federal prosecutor, told the New York Post the suit is unlikely to succeed. He cited presidential immunity, the absence of any cited legal violation, and the fact that federal courts screen prisoner complaints before service.

Tudor Dixon, a former Michigan GOP gubernatorial candidate, called the filing an example of arrogance and entitlement.