Athens, Georgia, Mayor Kelly Gertz was heckled Wednesday after she tried to deny that her city had a sanctuary policy during a press conference about the illegal immigrant accused of killing nursing student Laken Riley.
Jose Antonio Ibarra, an illegal immigrant from Venezuela, allegedly brutally murdered 22-year-old University of Georgia student Riley, who was out for a run on campus. Members of the news conference audience angrily yelled at Gertz, a Democrat, for criticizing President Trump's comments on illegal immigration. (Related: 'Every state is a border state': Georgia Governor Brian Kemp slams Biden administration over college student's death)
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“Well, 2019 wasn't that long ago,” Gertz said. “You may remember that dynamic where the president of the United States spoke about foreign-born people in the most despicable terms.”
“Please stop. This is an invasion!” the audience shouted. “When I was young, I was a criminal, and you know what I was going to do? Cross the border to Mexico to get away from crime. Because of Jesus Christ, he Because you saved me, I will no longer live such an illegal life, but you do. You are an outlaw, Mayor.”
other audience members too jeered Gertz called the mayor a “liar” and said he “has blood on his hands.” [his] He denied that Athens was a “sanctuary city.”
Ybarra has an extensive criminal record and was arrested shortly after Riley's body was discovered on Friday. The suspect lived in Athens, Georgia, after crossing the southern border into El Paso, Texas.
“In short, I caution against confusing immigration with crime,” Gertz insisted during his speech. “The data shows there is no connection between the two.
Another Venezuelan immigrant was later arrested in Virginia for allegedly sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl. according to to the New York Post.
The Associated Press was outraged for trying to avoid linking Riley's death to illegal immigration, publishing an article in X claiming that Riley's death “highlights the horrors of solo female athletes” and murder They labeled the suspect an “Athens resident.”
Gertz's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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