“He Needs To Resign In Disgrace Now”: Internet slams sheriff of Georgia County where Laken Riley was killed, for not cooperating with ICE detainers

On Thursday, February 22, 2024, Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student, was killed in Georgia County, with the suspect, Ibarra, reportedly being an undocumented immigrant. However, once the case fell on the local cops, the local sheriff reportedly pledged to not cooperate with the federal immigration agents.

Following the mayor of the county’s insistence that the town was not a sanctuary city, as per Fox News, locals referred to the sheriff who had refused to cooperate with the ICE.

Now, a video from 2020 recently resurfaced where John Williams, the current sheriff of the county and a 2020 contender, declared that he would not work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. He said that in connection with the immigration laws. According to Fox News, he said:

“It is not my intention to cooperate with detainers. I see it as the sheriff’s responsibility to protect the community. We can’t help with a culture of fear in our community and expect our community to respond and help us in situations.”

Meanwhile, once the video and the news were uploaded on X, netizens were enraged. They took to the comment section of @Travis_in_Flint’s post to express their opinion.

---

Netizens bash the sheriff of Georgia County, where Laken Riley was killed, for his decision to not cooperate with ICE

Ibarra is suspected of killing Laken Riley (Image via Pexels)

Jose Antonio Ibarra, 26, a migrant from Venezuela, is suspected of killing Laken Riley, a nursing student in Georgia County. Regarding the investigation, John Williams, the sheriff of Georgia County, is currently facing fire for his actions. According to a resurfaced interview from 2020 regarding the immigration laws, Williams refused to work with ICE detainers.

As per Daily Wire, Ibarra entered the country illegally through El Paso, Texas, in September 2022. He was initially arrested but was later freed because there wasn't enough room for him in custody.

On the other hand, in the footage, Williams can be heard making a campaign pledge to refrain from "contributing" to a "culture of fear."

As per Fox News, he further said:

"Building relationships is key and if we're antagonizing people because they are undocumented, then they built that fear in them, and they're not likely to come to us. Not only when we need their help, but when they need our help."

As per sources like New York Post, the sheriff of Georgia County continued:

“So that’s not something that we’d be doing. We won’t be doing any type of round-ups and we won’t be contributing to that culture of fear.”

However, once the information was made public on X, netizens took to the platform to criticize the sheriff and his decision.

---

Mayor Kelly Girtz of Athens is now facing fire from the protestors concerning Laken Riley's murder

The 2020 interview resurfaced online shortly after Mayor Kelly Girtz was viciously heckled for taking a moderate stance on immigration.

Meanwhile, as reported by Daily Wire, Ibarra was accused of kidnapping, aggravated assault, felony murder, obstructing a 911 call, aggravated battery, false detention, and hiding the death of another person in relation to the murder of Laken Riley, a nursing student.

On the other hand, following Laken Riley's murder on the University of Georgia campus, the community became outraged.

As per New York Post, the sheriff's previous remarks came to light after agitated Georgians disrupted Mayor Kelly Girtz's news conference on the city's strategy to bolster public safety on Wednesday morning, February 28, 2024. They also interrupted him as he attempted to dismiss "the notion of a sanctuary city."