Last week, Laken Riley – a 22-year-old nursing student at Augusta University in Athens, GA – was brutally murdered while out on a jog.
A 26-year-old illegal alien named Jose Ibarra has been charged with her murder. Allegedly, he barbarically attacked Riley, “disfiguring her skull,” before ultimately killing her.
Athens, GA is a sanctuary city that refuses to cooperate with federal law enforcement over illegal immigration.
During a press conference earlier today, the city’s Mayor, Kelly Girtz, attempted to deny that Athens is a sanctuary city. Furthermore, he attempted to gaslight residents about the connection between illegal immigration and crime.
But, residents weren’t having it…
Citizens quickly called out Mayor Girtz’s bluffs as lies.
One man rightfully shouted out, “You’re a liar! You’re the one who’s guilty! You have blood on your hands!” before another audience member told him to resign!
Watch for yourself here:
Kelly Girtz (D), the Mayor of Athens, Georgia where Laken Riley was m*rdered by an illegal tried deflecting and shifting the blame.
The people weren’t having it!
“You’re a liar! You have blood on your hands!” pic.twitter.com/84118yr4YL
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) February 28, 2024
Here’s a transcript from the clip:
Girtz: I’ve received many calls, many emails, and many queries from the press in recent days about some notion of a sanctuary city. I want to lay this to rest today: the term sanctuary city does not have a sole legal or procedural definition…so that term means different things to different people.
Audience members: Liar! Liar! Liar!
Girtz: You’re here to listen.
Man: You’re a liar! You’re the one who’s guilty! You have blood on your hands!
Girtz: Sanctuary cities are things disallowed by Georgia law.
Man: We know what a sanctuary city is!
Girtz: We (Athens) do not correspond to this definition under state law…
Audience member: You need to resign! Resign now! You allowed this to happen!
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Mayor Girtz also tried to deflect the blame onto President Trump, implying that his “vile” rhetoric about “foreign-born” people was somehow the real culprit?
But, Athens residents weren’t buying that either.
Watch how they responded:
JUST IN: Mayor of Athens, Georgia Kelly Girtz says the death of Laken Riley is “not connected” to illegal immigration and points the finger at Trump for being ‘mean’ to illegals.
Your country is controlled by m*rons.
Riley was killed by an illegal immigrant but Girtz is… pic.twitter.com/IrZRvPEnLs
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) February 28, 2024
The National Review had this to say about Mayor Girtz’s denial about the role of illegal immigration in the murder of the beloved college student:
The mayor of Athens, Ga., where an illegal immigrant was recently charged with murdering a female nursing student at the University of Georgia, said Wednesday in the context of the tragedy that crime and illegal immigration are “not connected.”
Jose Antonio Ibarra, a Venezuelan migrant who entered the country illegally in 2022, faced numerous murder and assault charges for killing Georgia nursing student Laken Riley and leaving her body on the school’s campus in Athens. He was accused of brutally beating her and severely damaging her skull.
“I caution against conflating immigration and crime,” Athens mayor Kelly Girtz said at a press conference following the incident, which has sparked outrage throughout the country. “The data demonstrates that the two are not connected.”
ADVERTISEMENTIbarra allegedly caused “great bodily harm with an object” and prevented Riley from calling 911 when he kidnapped her during a jog on Georgia’s campus. The weapon Ibarra used against Riley is still unknown, although her initial cause of death was determined to be blunt force trauma.
Immigration and Customers Enforcement said Sunday that Ibarra was apprehended in September 2022 and paroled after illegally entering the country through El Paso, Texas. The New York City Police Department arrested Ibarra in September 2023 for endangering the welfare of a child, his wife’s son, who had no restraint or helmet on as he rode on the back of Ibarra’s moped.
In light of Mayor Girtz’s denial, here’s a clip from 5 years ago, where he proudly declared Athens a sanctuary city:
Here is the Mayor of Athens, 5 years ago, declaring Athens a Sanctuary City
Laken Riley’s skull was just disfigured by an illegal who slaughtered her while out for a jog pic.twitter.com/dUyKzb1Vbr
— Jack Poso 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) February 28, 2024
WSB Atlanta gave some background on Athens, GA’s sanctuary city policies, and the people of Athens response to their mayor’s brazen lies:
Girtz spoke in front of a small group of protestors holding signs and said they followed the state law that bans cities and counties from adopting “sanctuary city” policy in order to get state funding.
“And no policies have been adopted by the mayor or commission that have created a sanctuary city status in Athens,” he said.
One citizen was not happy with his explanation.
“You’re insulting our intelligence, sir! You need to resign!”
Channel 2 Action News asked county officials about a resolution passed by the commission and signed by Girtz in 2019 that said:
“The Athens-Clarke County Unified Government is welcoming to people from all lands and backgrounds and strives to foster a community where individuals and families of all statuses feel safe, are able to prosper, and can breathe free…”
“…that all people, including those without documentation feel welcome and comfortable interacting with local law enforcement, their local government, and all services provided by such.”
ADVERTISEMENTWhen he was asked if that gives the impression Athens is a sanctuary city, Girtz cited rhetoric by then-President Donald Trump at the time and rise of white supremacists and continued to support the language of the resolution.
What do you think?
Do you agree with the people of Athens that Mayor Girtz has Laken Riley’s blood on his hands?
Usually I don’t like heckling people. In the case, I love it. This disgusting piece of filth deserves to be heckled and criminally held accountable. The blood of Laken Riley is on his and Joe Biden's hands. pic.twitter.com/2Qy6q00rXH
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) February 28, 2024
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