The suspect in the University of Georgia (UGA) campus murder of 22-year-old Laken Riley has been identified as Jose Antonio Ibarra, and he is not a U.S. citizen.
Breitbart News reported that Riley, an Augusta University College of Nursing student, was found dead on the UGA campus Thursday.
CNN noted that Ibarra was arrested in connection with the murder, with UGA Police Chief Jeff Clark stressing that Ibarra has an “extensive” criminal history.
Clark also noted that Ibarra lives in Athens but is not a UGA student or a U.S. citizen.
Marty, the girls, and I were truly shaken and heartbroken to learn of Laken Riley’s tragic death.
— Governor Brian P. Kemp (@GovKemp) February 24, 2024
Tonight, we’re thankful the @GBI_GA, @accpolice, @universityofga police and other partners have taken her murderer into custody. We will not rest until justice for Laken is secured.
FOX News quoted Clark saying, “Right now I don’t know his full status. He is not a citizen of the United States.”
Retired New York Police Department inspector Paul Mauro told FOX News:
While the perpetrator’s legal status is unclear, if the Chief’s statement is accurate and that he is a Venezuelan migrant — potentially admitted under the continuing “special status” program — it is past time to recognize the obvious: Maduro has taken a page from Castro’s book and is emptying his criminals into the U.S., and we are holding the door open for them.
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Randy Clark / BreitbartAWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio and a pro-staffer for Pulsar Night Vision. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in 2010 and holds a Ph.D. in Military History, with a focus on the Vietnam War (brown water navy), U.S. Navy since Inception, the Civil War, and Early Modern Europe. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at