Dem Georgia mayor mercilessly heckled over ‘sanctuary cities’ policies after disturbing murder of Laken Riley

A Georgia mayor was brutally heckled at a press conference Wednesday over his perceived “sanctuary city” policies following the murder of nursing student Laken Riley, allegedly at the hands of a Venezuelan migrant.

“You’re a liar!” one man shouted at Athens Mayor Kelly Girtz, according to a report by Fox News Digital. “You’re the one who is guilty and got blood on your hands for this murder, sir!”

Athens does not have an official sanctuary city policy, but Girtz has come under fire for what critics call a soft stance on immigration, including signing a 2019 city resolution that declared the county “is welcoming to people from all lands and backgrounds.”

On Wednesday, the mayor defended his stance over the shouts of the hecklers, attempting to dismiss what he described as “the notion of a sanctuary city” on his turf.

“There is no legislation from this government that’s created sanctuary city status,” Girtz said.

“Trauma affects us all,” he added. “And I understand in the wake of a great tragedy like this, we are all deeply hurt and everybody expresses their hurt differently.”

The exchange came in the heated climate stemming from Riley’s vicious beating death on the University of Georgia campus on Feb. 22, with Venezuelan national Jose Antonio Ibarra now charged in the crime.

US Immigration & Customs Enforcement officials said Ibarra entered the country illegally in 2022, but was released pending “future proceedings.”

He later worked in New York in food delivery before moving to Georgia to live with his brother, Diego.

The brothers lived near the campus where the 22-year-old coed was beaten to death shortly after 12:30 p.m. while out for a run in a wooded section of the campus, police said.

Immigration officials said Ibarra was arrested in Queens on Aug. 31 on a child endangerment charge but released before the agency could file a request to deport him.

The two brothers were also busted for shoplifting at an Athens Walmart in October and charged with stealing $200 in merchandise, but were released after being issued summonses.

Diego Ibarra was later detained by ICE for using a phony green card to land a job at UGA.

At his press conference Wednesday, Girtz said the city is “deeply sorry for this tragedy.

“Responsibility for this crime rests solely upon the perpetrator,” he added.

“In Athens-Clarke County, it deals with humanity,” Girtz said. “And part of everybody’s humanity is the expectation of human dignity. While 2019 was not that long ago, you might remember the dynamic we were living in in the late teens in this country, where you had the president of the United States speaking in the most vile terms about people that were foreign-born.”

The reference was to the timing of the 2019 resolution, which stated that the county “embraces and celebrates our diversity of cultures,” and blasted “white nationalists and xenophobes” who “have been emboldened by some politicians and members of the media.”

But the shot at former President Donald Trump on Wednesday set off a handful of hecklers.

“This is an invasion!” one man shouted at the mayor. “No sir. You’re talking BS to us right now.”

An irritated Girtz fired back, “Son, I’m gonna ask you to leave.”

Meanwhile, Riley’s death prompted the University of Georgia to pump $7.3 million into security upgrades.