Residents call out Dem mayor for defending sanctuary city policies at Laken Riley briefing

Athens, Georgia Mayor Kelly Girtz drew flak Wednesday after trying to deny her city has sanctuary policies during a news conference about an illegal immigrant who allegedly killed the nursing student Laken Riley.

An illegal immigrant from Venezuela named José Antonio Ibarra allegedly brutally murder Riley, a 22-year-old University of Georgia student after going for a run on campus. An audience member at the news conference angrily shouted at Girtz, who is a Democrat, as she criticized Trump for his comments against illegal immigrants.

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“Well, 2019 wasn't that long ago,” Girtz said. “You may remember the dynamic … where you had the president of the United States speaking in the most vile terms of foreign-born people.”

“Please stop it. This is an invasion!” shouted the crowd. “When I was younger, I was a criminal and you know what I was thinking of doing? Crossing the border into Mexico to get away from my crimes. Thank Jesus Christ, He saved me and I no longer I live this life without law, but you do. You are illegal, Mr. Mayor.”

Other members of the audience too pregnant Girtz, calling the mayor a “liar” and saying he has “blood.” [his] hands for this murder” while denying that Athens is a “sanctuary city”.

Ibarra had an extensive criminal records and was arrested Friday shortly after Riley's body was discovered. The suspicious He lived in Athens, Georgia after crossing the southern border to El Paso, Texas.

“In general, I caution against conflating immigration and crime,” Girtz said as he delivered his remarks. “The data shows that the two are not connected.

Another Venezuelan migrant was later arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl in Virginia. seconds in the New York Post.

The Associated Press took heat for trying to avoid linking Riley's death to illegal immigration, publishing an article on X that claimed Riley's death “highlights the fear of solo female athletes” and called the alleged killer a “resident of Athens”.

Girtz's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.

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