A Mexican national imprisoned for the murder of a Michigan woman has launched an extraordinary lawsuit against Donald Trump, alleging the President’s campaign-trail comments about him caused lasting harm.
Brandon Ortiz-Vite, 27, is serving a sentence of 39 to 100 years after pleading guilty to killing his girlfriend, Ruby Garcia, in March 2024.
Garcia, 25, was shot multiple times in the head before her body was pushed from a vehicle onto Highway US 131 in downtown Grand Rapids.
Within days of the killing, Trump brought his immigration-focused campaign message to Grand Rapids, where he referred to Ortiz-Vite as “America’s problem” while highlighting illegal immigration as a central issue.
Trump’s campaign also featured Ortiz-Vite’s mugshot in political advertisements, according to Michigan Live.
Ortiz-Vite is now suing Trump and White House communications director Steven Cheung, seeking $75.5 million in damages, a public apology and U.S. citizenship. In the filing, he claims the publicity inflicted severe emotional distress and pressured him into accepting a plea deal.
“It all became clear to me when I first met with my court-appointed attorneys. They explained how my case had now gotten blown out of proportion and was now a high-profile case!” Ortiz-Vite wrote in the court filing.
“The shock in their eyes and the tears from mine were a reaction to my realization that I was living everyone’s worst nightmare! To be publicly infamous – a target! To the United States of America, from here everything went downhill. I was now labeled a cold-blooded murderer in the eyes of the people of this nation.”
Mexican immigrant Brandon Ortiz-Vite, 27, pleaded guilty to killing his girlfriend in March 2024
Days after the slaying, Donald Trump, who made tackling illegal immigration a cornerstone of his campaign, held a rally in Grand Rapids where he labeled Ortiz-Vite as ‘America’s problem’
Ortiz-Vite entered the country illegally as a child and was allowed to stay in the US under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which expired on May 10, 2019.
However, the killer stayed in the country past his DACA expiration date and was deported in 2020 after he was arrested for drunk driving. It is unclear when he re-entered the country.
In his lawsuit, Ortiz-Vite claimed that Trump’s spotlight on his immigration status made him feel pressured to plead guilty.
‘I was put into a category. Who I was as a person no longer mattered! What only mattered was my race,’ Ortiz-Vite wrote.
‘My case and immigration status! Once again, it belittled me, shattered my dignity and what I was as a person.’
He claimed that the attention isolated him while behind bars and has made him a target for other inmates.
‘The shame it brought to my family name is a reality I have to live with now,’ he wrote.
‘I took full responsibility for my actions but for them to use my case for political gain on TV was unjust. Humiliating. When I thought it couldn’t get worse, it did. I was center stage in front of a nation, public scrutiny at its finest!’
Ortiz-Vite shot Ruby Garcia, 25, in the head multiple times, then pushed her out of a car on Highway US 131 in downtown Grand Rapids
Ortiz-Vite is seeking $75.5 million, a public apology and US citizenship, claiming the publicity from Trump caused him severe emotional anguish and forced him to take a plea deal
Ortiz-Vite is seeking $75.5 million in punitive damages for himself and his family, a public apology from Trump and ‘naturalization to this beautiful country.’
He is representing himself in the lawsuit and filed it from his prison cell at the Chippewa Correctional Facility.
Former federal prosecutor Matthew Borgula told Fox News the case is unlikely to succeed.
‘Federal law requires courts to screen prisoner suits before anyone is served. This complaint will likely not survive that screening,’ Borgula said.
‘Also, presidential immunity covers official acts, and campaign statements can fall outside it – but this suit fails for more basic reasons.
‘Being publicly embarrassed by a politician isn’t a constitutional violation. This case should end before it begins.’
