Trump Angers Family Of Murder Victim Ruby Garcia After Falsely Claiming To Have Spoken To Them

Former President Donald Trump angered murder victim Ruby Garcia’s family for falsely claiming that he had spoken to family members. 

Authorities stated that Ruby was found shot dead on the US-131 highway near Grand Rapids, Michigan, on March 22.

Brandon Ortiz-Vite, a Mexican-born man living in the U.S. unlawfully and the victim’s boyfriend, was arrested days later and confessed. 

Authorities later said that he entered the United States as a child and had already been deported in September 2020.

On April 2, Trump delivered a speech during a campaign event in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in which he used the murder to emphasize what he called President Joe Biden‘s “border bloodbath.”

During the rally, the former president used this murder to illustrate his aggressive position on immigration and crime.

“Ruby’s loved ones and community are left grieving for this incredible young woman, remembering what they called her,” Trump declared during the campaign event. “They said she had just this most contagious laughter, and when she walked into a room, she lit up that room. And I’ve heard that from so many people. I spoke to some of her family.”

However, Ruby’s sister, Mavi Garcia, said her family had never talked to Trump or his campaign. She said her family is close and would know if that happened.

“He did not speak with us, so it was kind of shocking seeing that he had said that he had spoke with us, and misinforming people on live TV,” Mavi mentioned in an interview with a local station. 

“The focus should be on my sister right now, who she was in life,” she argued. “I want people to remember who she was in life.”

“She was a very happy person, a very generous person,” she recounted. “She was always so happy. Could light up a room.”

Ruby’s sister stated that she “stopped watching” Trump’s speech.

“I’d only seen up to that after I heard a couple of misinformations he said, I just stopped watching it,” she said.

She said she knew Ortiz-Vite was in the U.S. illegally but was unfamiliar with the details.

While police say the victim and her alleged murderer were boyfriend and girlfriend, Mavi declared that they were friends and that the relationship had not gone that far.

The victim’s sister added that she wishes that Ortiz-Vite “stayed in Mexico” but that she does not connect the victim’s death to immigration.

Ortiz-Vite is facing five charges, such as felony murder and carjacking. He is expected to return to the Grand Rapids District Court on April 9.

Mavi spoke with the media days after the shooting, but her family requested privacy after that, especially on the day of the funeral. 

She said Trump and others angered her for turning Ruby’s death into something political.

“It’s always been about illegal immigrants,” the victim’s sister stated. “Nobody really speaks about when Americans do heinous crimes, and it’s kind of shocking why he would just bring up illegals. What about Americans who do heinous crimes like that?”

During a rally in Dayton, Ohio, in March, Trump said that some illegal immigrants should not be considered people and warned that it would be a “bloodbath” if he is not reelected.

President Joe Biden‘s campaign called this comment the promotion of political violence.

Steven Cheung, a Trump campaign spokesman, declared that Trump’s “bloodbath” remark was not about violence but was instead an extension of his comments regarding imported cars.

Immigration crackdowns are also happening at a local level.

In March, the Georgia legislature passed a bill that would make it easier for police departments to identify and arrest undocumented immigrants. Under the proposed law, sheriffs must report to federal authorities if someone they arrest has no documentation. Local governments might lose state funding if they fail to report such cases.