Athens, Georgia, Mayor Kelly Girtz (D) is fighting a local recall effort against him after the murder of 22-year-old Laken Riley in February. Following Riley’s murder, Girtz defended sanctuary city policies in private emails.
A report from the Athens Banner-Herald details Girtz’s seeking to slow down a recall effort against him by local activists. The recall comes in the wake of Riley’s death, which rocked the nation when Jose Antonio Ibarra, an illegal alien from Venezuela, was arrested and charged with murdering her on the University of Georgia (UGA) campus on Feb. 22.
The Athens Banner-Herald reports:
Athens-Clarke County Mayor Kelly Girtz is asking the county’s Superior Court to order the suspension of a recall effort against him until the court reviews the proceedings thus far in the initiative. [Emphasis added]
In a petition filed Wednesday, Girtz asks that the court’s review include an examination of the sufficiency, or lack thereof, of the grounds stated for the recall effort. Girtz also asks that the court review “… the facts, if any, upon which the grounds in the Application (for recall) are based… .” [Emphasis added]
Also, in his petition, Girtz contends county elections officials have mishandled the recall effort and violated provisions of the state Recall Act. Girtz is represented by private counsel with his petition, and no county funds are being expended in connection with his effort. [Emphasis added]
Private emails from Girtz, released last month, show that in the weeks following Riley’s murder, the Democrat mayor was defending sanctuary city policies whereby illegal aliens are not turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), even when they are charged with the most violent crimes.
“I support the detainer policy as one that is both humane and following the well-documented propensity of immigrants in the U.S. to be less criminally inclined than the native-born population,” Girtz wrote in an email, referring to the policy where ICE detainers on illegal aliens are not honored by local law enforcement.
As Breitbart News reported, according to Ibarra’s case file given to the Senate Homeland Security Committee, Ibarra was first encountered at the United States-Mexico border near El Paso, Texas, on September 8, 2022. DHS officials cited “detention capacity” as the reason Ibarra was rewarded parole and released into the U.S. interior.
On July 19, 2023, Ibarra reported to ICE officials in New York City for a biometric appointment where he was fingerprinted. The results of those fingerprints showed that Ibarra had a prior criminal history.
On September 14, 2023, Ibarra was arrested for acting in a manner that could injure a child. Despite the charge, Ibarra was not prosecuted, and the arrest was expunged.
Two months later, in November 2023, Ibarra applied for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). On December 9, 2023, Ibarra’s work permit application was approved.
Less than three months after securing the work permit, Ibarra was charged with Riley’s murder. He remains in Clarke County Jail without bail.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at
