The Mexican national claims the president caused him public embarrassment by exploiting his murder case for political gain
A Mexican national serving a decades-long prison sentence for murdering a Michigan woman has filed a federal lawsuit against US President Donald Trump, seeking $75 million in damages, a public apology, and American citizenship after claiming his case was exploited for political gain.
Brandon Ortiz-Vite, 27, is serving a sentence of 39 to 102 years after pleading guilty to the murder of Ruby Garcia in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 2024. Prosecutors said he shot Garcia multiple times before abandoning her body along a highway and driving away in her vehicle.
Ortiz-Vite had previously been deported from the US but later reentered the country illegally.
In a handwritten complaint filed in federal court, Ortiz-Vite named Trump and White House communications director Steven Cheung as defendants. He alleges Trump turned him into a national symbol during the 2024 presidential campaign by repeatedly highlighting his case in speeches and advertisements focused on illegal immigration.
During a campaign event in Grand Rapids, Trump described Ortiz-Vite as “America’s problem” and later featured his mugshot in campaign advertisements referring to “murderers, rapists, and drug traffickers” living illegally in the United States.
Brandon Ortiz-Vite was convicted of Ruby Garcia’s murder in 2024. Now he’s asking a federal judge to order President Trump to apologize for mentioning his case. https://t.co/VAhMqMovxn
In the lawsuit, Ortiz-Vite claims the publicity subjected him to harassment behind bars and reduced him to a stereotype.
“I was put into a category. Who I was as a person no longer mattered! What only mattered was my race,” he wrote in the complaint.
Ortiz-Vite argued that Trump had unfairly politicized his case, claiming the publicity “belittled me, shattered my dignity and what I was as a person.”
“The shame it brought to my family name is a reality I have to live with now,” he added.
Ortiz-Vite is seeking $75 million in damages, a public apology from Trump, and US citizenship. He alleges the president’s repeated references to his case caused him public humiliation.
Legal experts cited by US media have said the lawsuit is unlikely to succeed. Former federal prosecutor Matthew Borgula said federal courts are required to screen prisoner lawsuits before they can proceed and argued the complaint is unlikely to survive that process.
“Being publicly embarrassed by a politician isn’t a constitutional violation,” Borgula said, adding that Trump’s statements about Ortiz-Vite were “substantially true.”
