Politics

Georgia Republican Rep’s Campaign Puts Up Laken Riley Billboards Ahead Of Biden’s Visit To Atlanta

[Screenshot/YouTube/MikeCollinsForCongress]

[Screenshot/YouTube/MikeCollinsForCongress]

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Mary Lou Masters Contributor
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Republican Georgia Rep. Mike Collins’ campaign is putting up billboards in Atlanta aimed at President Joe Biden and relating to the death of 22-year-old nursing student Laken Riley.

Riley’s alleged killer, Jose Antonio Ibarra, is an illegal migrant from Venezuela who was released into the country under the Biden administration. The campaign is running two billboards from Thursday through the weekend along Biden’s route to his campaign event in Atlanta on Saturday, Collins’ team told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

“I hope Biden will see these and have a change of heart on his border policies that are clearly devastating to American families,” Collins told the DCNF in a statement. “His visit to Georgia would be the perfect time to own up to the mistake, apologize and take executive action.”

One billboard shows side-by-side photos of Ibarra and Riley and reads, “Joe Biden put him first, not her.” The other sign calls on Biden to “say her name” and displays an image of Riley. (RELATED: GOP Congressman Mike Collins Will Leave SOTU Guest Seat ‘Vacant’ To Honor Migrant Crime Victims)

Biden has yet to directly address Riley’s death publicly, but the White House released a statement on Feb. 26 addressing the murder.

“We would like to extend our deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of Laken Hope Riley,” the statement reads. “People should be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law if they are found to be guilty. Given this is an active case, we would have to refer you to state law enforcement and ICE.”

Biden notably failed to bring up Riley’s murder during his Feb. 28 speech addressing his efforts to reduce crime in America.

Former President Donald Trump, who is the presumptive Republican nominee, reacted to Riley’s death in a Truth Social post on Feb. 26 where he blamed the Biden administration’s border policies. Trump said during a trip to the southern border days later that he spoke with Riley’s parents.

Republican Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana, who is running for Senate in 2024, sent a letter to Biden on Monday requesting he “say Laken Riley’s name” on Thursday evening during his State of The Union address.

Collins invited Riley’s parents to join him during the event, but they declined to grieve the tragedy in private. The congressman vowed to leave his guest seat vacant in Riley’s honor.

The Laken Riley Act, which Collins introduced, was advanced by a rule on Wednesday and is teed up for a vote Thursday. The legislation would require illegal migrants charged with a crime to be held in custody.

Riley went out for a run on Feb. 22, but was later found deceased on the University of Georgia’s campus near its intramural fields. Ibarra was arrested the following day and was charged with malice murder, felony murder, aggravated battery, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, kidnapping, hindering a 911 call and concealing the death of another.

Neither Biden’s campaign nor the White House immediately responded to the DCNF’s requests for comment.

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