On Wednesday, as Mia has been covering, Jose Ibarra, an illegal immigrant from Venezuela, was found guilty on all counts for the murder of Laken Riley. President-elect Donald Trump was quick to offer his response over Truth Social and X following the verdict.
"JUSTICE FOR LAKEN RILEY! The Illegal who killed our beloved Laken Riley was just found GUILTY on all counts for his horrific crimes," Trump declared. "Although the pain and heartbreak will last forever, hopefully this can help bring some peace and closure to her wonderful family who fought for Justice, and to ensure that other families don’t have to go through what they have. We love you, Laken, and our hearts will always be with you," he continued. His message concluded with a note about how to prevent such heinous and preventable tragedies. "It is time to secure our Border, and remove these criminals and thugs from our Country, so nothing like this can happen again!"
— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) November 20, 2024
JUSTICE FOR LAKEN RILEY! The Illegal who killed our beloved Laken Riley was just found GUILTY on all counts for his horrific crimes. Although the pain and heartbreak will last forever, hopefully this can help bring some peace and closure to her wonderful family who fought for…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 20, 2024
Trump also spoke in support of Riley during a rally in Rome, Georgia not long after her death.
When it comes to the mass deportations to take place under the Trump administration, there will be a focus on removing such "criminals and thugs" who have committed such violent crimes.
The reaction from Trump and others, focusing on how such criminals must be deported stands in stark contrast to many in the mainstream media who wouldn't even acknowledge that Ibarra is here illegally. This was also an issue when Ibarra was first arrested for his crimes in February, including and especially when it comes to the Associated Press.
.@washingtonpost, @AP, and @nytimes all refuse to describe Laken Riley’s murderer as an illegal immigrant
— John Hasson (@SonofHas) November 20, 2024
Instead he’s a
“Venezuelan national”
“Man”
“Venezuelan migrant”
Simply infuriating pic.twitter.com/V0l3s2o5bn
It's also worth reminding that while Trump had no problem referring to Ibarra as an "Illegal," which he is, Democrats and pro-illegal immigrant activists focused their outrage on such a term. President Joe Biden also acknowledged Ibarra using that term when he was responding to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) heckling him at his State of the Union address earlier this year. Had Greene not forced him to mention Riley, Biden would not have done so. He also flubbed her name and even later apologized for using the legally correct term about Ibarra, though the White House tried to clean up his apology.
Sadly, Riley is not the only victim. There are many other instances where illegal immigrants have been charged with the rape and murder of women throughout the country, with family members of those victims speaking with Trump. The family of another victim, Rachel Morin, also spoke at the RNC in Milwaukee in July.
This presents another stark contrast along party lines. Vice President Kamala Harris, during her October interview with Fox News' Bret Baier, could not even properly apologize to the victims' family members, which did not go unnoticed.
The "guilty" verdict of Ibarra for the murder of Riley and his other crimes has been a trending topic over X throughout Wednesday. He was later sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole and will not face the death penalty.
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