Laken Hope Riley, a 22-year-old Augusta University nursing student, was allegedly killed on February 22 by an illegal alien released into the United States — an incident former President Donald Trump said “should have NEVER happened.”
“Crooked Joe Biden’s Border INVASION is destroying our country and killing our citizens! The horrible murder of 22-year-old Laken Riley at the University of Georgia should have NEVER happened! The monster who took her life illegally entered our Country in 2022…and then was released AGAIN by Radical Democrats in New York after injuring a CHILD!!” Trump said in a post to Truth Social on Monday.
🚨NEW STATEMENT FROM PRESIDENT TRUMP: pic.twitter.com/P96jlmUCTQ
— Karoline Leavitt (@kleavittnh) February 26, 2024
“When I am your President, we will immediately Seal the Border, Stop the Invasion, and on Day One, we will begin the largest deportation operation of illegal CRIMINALS in American History! May God Bless and her family!!! Our prayers are with you!” Trump continued.
Laken Riley (Laken Riley/Facebook)
As Breitbart News reported, Riley went for a morning jog along the University of Georgia’s campus in Athens, where she had transferred from in 2023. When she did not return, her roommate called the police, who started a search for Riley.
Only hours after Riley left for her morning run, her body was found in a wooded area near Lake Herrick. Police said Riley’s body showed visible injuries. The following day, police arrested 26-year-old Jose Antonio Ibarra, an illegal alien from Venezuela.
Breitbart News’ John Binder wrote:
Ibarra first crossed the U.S.-Mexico border in September 2022. As part of President Joe Biden’s expansive Catch and Release network, where millions have been released, Ibarra was freed into the U.S. interior with Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials citing a lack of detention space to keep him locked up.
According to DHS sources, Ibarra should have been deported from the U.S. in September 2023 when he was arrested in Queens, New York, for injuring a child under the age of 17. Instead, thanks to the city’s sanctuary policy, Ibarra was released from jail rather than being turned over to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency.
Ibarra is now charged with Riley’s kidnapping and murder as well as aggravated battery, aggravated assault, hindering a 911 call, and concealing the death of a person.
Riley is now one of several American women allegedly killed by an illegal alien.
Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on X @thekat_hamilton.
