Illegal immigrant Jose Antonio Ibarra was arrested and charged Friday by University of Georgia (UGA) authorities for the death of Lake Riley, 22, who was found Thursday afternoon. During a press conference Friday night revealing Ibarra's identity, authorities confirmed he was not a resident of the U.S. Early reports circulated that Ibarra was illegally living in the U.S., with Department of Justice officials confirming Ibarra's brother, Diego, was arrested over fraudulent immigration papers.
AP News, however, posted an article on X (formerly Twitter) Sunday morning claiming Riley's death now "highlights the fear of solo female athletes." The article notably labels Riley's alleged murderer as an "Athens resident," giving no other background on the illegal migrant even though university officials confirmed Friday he was not a resident of the U.S.
Social media users reacted, quickly calling out the news agency's lack of forthrightness around Ibarra's status.
Conservative activist Scott Presler slammed the outlet's post in a reply which called out the ongoing border crisis, blaming Democrats for "welcoming illegal aliens into the country."
"This young American girl was killed by an illegal alien. So, when we say that Americans are being replaced, we really mean it," Presler replied to the post.
Staffer for Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Christina Pushaw, noted how the AP avoided "blaming an illegal alien" for Riley's death.
Former Republican Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker called for securing the border after correcting the outlet in his reply.
"In a story about an illegal alien murderer, the AP can't use the word illegal alien so they make it about female athletes. In a story about female athletes, the AP can't define female. This is journalism?" wrote political consultant and writer Ryan Girdusky.
Republican Florida Rep. Berny Jacques observed the "corporate media" is bending "over backwards" to avoid calling out Ibarra's immigration status.
"You obviously meant 'the fears of being killed by one of the millions of unvetted illegal aliens that @JoeBiden has deliberately allowed to stream across the border,' @ap," producer, director and film and TV star Nick Searcy wrote.
Republican Texas Rep. Chip Roy slammed the outlet for their alleged newfound care of female athletes and called out their label of Ibarra.
"Just insane framing. The media never fails to disappoint," co-founder and president of RealClearPolitics Tom Bevan stated.
Ibarra was charged with malice murder, felony murder, aggravated battery, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, kidnapping, hindering a 911 call and concealing the death of another, officials confirmed Friday. In addition to Ibarra's illegal status, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) released a statement Sunday revealing Ibarra had a criminal history.
Following his Sept. 8, 2022 entrance into the U.S. illegally near El Paso, Texas, Ibarra was "paroled and released for further processing." Ibarra was arrested Aug. 31, 2023 by New York Police Department officials and charged with acting in a manner to injure a child less than 17, as well as receiving a motor vehicle license violation, ICE confirmed.
Authorities claimed early investigations showed no connection between Riley and Ibarra, calling the attack on the nursing student a "crime of opportunity." Ibarra is currently being held on no bond. The Office of Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) in Atlanta has since lodged a detainer against him.
Yep.