Michigan Murder Convict Sues Trump for $75 Million Over Campaign Use of Case

Brandon Ortiz-Vite, 27, currently serving 39 to 102 years in prison for the March 2024 murder of Ruby Garcia in Grand Rapids, Michigan, has filed a federal lawsuit against President Donald Trump and White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Steven Cheung. Ortiz-Vite’s handwritten complaint seeks $75 million in damages, a public apology, and U.S. citizenship, claiming he endured humiliation when his case became a focal point of Trump’s immigration campaign messaging.

Garcia’s body was discovered along a road in Grand Rapids bearing multiple gunshot wounds. The victim and Ortiz-Vite, who had previously been deported from the country, were engaged in a romantic relationship and were arguing at the time of the slaying. Trump highlighted the case during a 2024 Grand Rapids visit, calling Ortiz-Vite “America’s problem” and using his mugshot in campaign commercials as an example of “murderers, rapists, and drug traffickers” illegally residing in the United States, according to reporting by The Midwesterner.

In his complaint, Ortiz-Vite described the psychological toll of becoming a national political symbol. He wrote that prison staff and inmates mocked him, and that his race and immigration status overshadowed his identity as a person. “The shame it brought to my family name is a reality I have to live with now,” he stated, adding that the intense media coverage transformed his case into a “high-profile case” that made him feel like a target for the entire nation.

Criminal defense attorney and former federal prosecutor Matthew Borgula expressed skepticism about the lawsuit’s viability. Borgula told Fox News Digital that federal law requires courts to screen prisoner suits before proceeding and that Trump’s statements were “substantially true.” He noted that presidential immunity protections and the lack of any constitutional violation in public embarrassment make the case unlikely to succeed.

Ortiz-Vite entered the United States illegally and remained under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program until his status expired on May 10, 2019, according to MLive.com. He was deported following a 2020 driving-while-intoxicated arrest, though the timing of his illegal re-entry remains unclear. The lawsuit does not cite specific legal violations but instead attributes his claims to Trump’s labeling of him as an example of Biden-era border policies.

In his complaint, Ortiz-Vite stated that despite the consequences, he “stood tall” and confessed to the second-degree murder of his partner on March 24, 2024. He claimed to have been respectful during questioning about his actions and expressed remorse for the killing, arguing that his willingness to accept responsibility should distinguish his case from Trump’s characterization.

Former Michigan GOP gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon criticized the lawsuit as emblematic of entitlement. “As long as we have Democrats jetting to other countries to coddle criminal illegal aliens over margaritas, this level of arrogance and entitlement from convicted murderers will continue,” Dixon said, calling for lawmakers to stand with Garcia’s family instead of her killer.