President-elect Trump weighed in on the sentencing of the Venezuelan man charged for killing Georgia student Laken Riley earlier this year, hailing the verdict as “justice.”
“JUSTICE FOR LAKEN RILEY!” Trump posted Wednesday to his Truth Social site. “The Illegal who killed our beloved Laken Riley was just found GUILTY on all counts for his horrific crimes.”
A Georgia judge found Jose Ibarra, 26, guilty on all charges after four days of trial, The Associated Press reported.
Ibarra faced ten charges, including one count of malice murder, three counts of felony murder. He also faced one count each of kidnapping, aggravated assault, aggravated battery, hindering an emergency telephone call, tampering with evidence and being a peeping tom.
The defendant, a migrant from Venezuela, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Riley, a 22-year-old college student, was killed while jogging in a park on the University of Georgia campus in February. Her death became a flashpoint in politics over the election cycle, with Republicans pointing her death to the country’s immigration crisis and the Biden administration’s efforts.
Riley died of blunt force trauma, and there was no connection between her and Ibarra before the crime, University of Georgia Police Chief Jeff Clark said in the spring.
Her death garnered national attention, both from Trump and Republicans pushing for immigration reform, and President Biden, who expressed his “deepest condolences.”
In his post, Trump said he hopes Riley’s death will bring “some peace and closure” to her family.
“We love you, Laken, and our hearts will always be with you,” he wrote. “It is time to secure our Border, and remove these criminals and thugs from our Country, so nothing like this can happen again!”
On Monday, Trump signaled he would declare an immigration national emergency and use military assets to support his mass deportation plan when he returns to the White House.
Immigration advocates are bracing for executive action on immigration during his second term, but questions remain about how he would go about legally and logistically deporting millions of migrants.
