Conservatives on Sunday accused the Associated Press of seeming to categorize Laken Riley’s murder as a “solo female athlete scare” rather than illegal immigration or weak crime laws.
Riley, a nursing student at Augusta University, was found dead Thursday after attending the University of Georgia and then entering the nursing program at Augusta’s Athens campus, where she was placed on the dean’s list.
Police charged Jose Antonio Ibarra with malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, kidnapping, interfering with a 911 call, and concealing the death of another person.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) also confirmed by Sunday that Ybarra entered the United States illegally in 2022 and had previously been arrested in New York City.
However, the Associated Press published a story about the murder on Saturday that did not mention Ybarra’s immigration or criminal history, instead focusing on how Riley was killed while jogging alone.
“Riley’s death has once again put a spotlight on the dangers faced by female runners. Previously, in 2018, University of Iowa student Molly Tibbetts died while jogging, leading to harassment and stalking. “This sparked criticism from other women who shared their stories,” the article reads.
Some social media users focused solely on “female runners,” ignoring that Tibbetts was killed by an illegal immigrant and that there was another suspect in Riley’s murder, and labeled Ybarra as “an Athens resident.” This view was criticized, saying that the
Follow The Post’s coverage of Laken Riley’s murder
A separate Associated Press report on Saturday said police did not yet know the suspect’s immigration status, but that information had not been updated as of Sunday night.
“That’s certainly not the lesson of this,” said Spectator contributing editor Stephen Miller.
Outkick columnist Mary Katherine Hamm wrote in a lengthy post: “Hello, female athlete. I ran this exact trail every week during my college career. Before I graduated and had a career and a family and the Associated Press experts lied about suspects. I think I might have been erased before it fit into a favorable narrative.”
She went on to say, “Ibarra is not just an ‘Athenian resident,’ and for not enforcing the law and allowing a man who has been arrested three times for crossing the border to hang out and work on campus. Laken Riley and all of the other students were at risk.” He had to escalate the charge to murder and be detained or risk deportation. good policy. Good job. The article goes so far as to cite the 2018 murder of Molly Tibbetts in Iowa as a reason why solo female runners should be worried, *and also points out that her killer was an illegal immigrant. I haven’t touched on that*. Please stop lying! ”
“It’s truly amazing how hard the media tries to avoid coverage that makes their political parties and progressive ideologies look bad,” wrote fellow Outkick writer Ian Miller. ing.
RealClearPolitics co-founder Tom Bevan posted: The media always disappoints. ”
“The answer is to disarm them and let in more criminal illegal aliens,” Townhall.com columnist Kurt Schlichter wrote.
“We have arrested an ‘Athens resident’ (an illegal alien from Venezuela who was illegally released by Mr. Biden),” Texas Republican Rep. Chip Roy said. But certainly, now the Associated Press is concerned about this outdated concept of “woman.” ”
“By tomorrow, the Associated Press will be tying this to climate change,” Twitch’s Doug Powers joked.
Fox News Digital has contacted The Associated Press for comment.
In a statement to FOX News Digital, ICE said Ybarra was encountered by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) after entering the El Paso area on September 8, 2022, and was “released on parole for further processing.” He admitted that
ICE also confirmed that Ybarra was arrested by the New York City Police Department a year later, on September 14, 2023, and “charged with conduct with injury to a child under 17 years of age and motor vehicle license violation.” .
