Democrats: No Closure, No Justice for Laken Riley

By John Kass

November 22, 2024

The criminal court judge in Georgia told the uncomfortable truth to the parents of nursing student Laken Riley and to the nation as he sentenced her murderer, the illegal Venezuelan migrant Jose Ibarra to pay for his crimes: life in prison without parole.

But there is no closure.

There will never be closure.

Since Democrats publicly and loudly fight the plans of President-elect Donald Trump to deport millions of illegals they have allowed into the country, and as the Democrats push an insurrection defying the will of the voters I don’t think there will be any justice for her.

No justice, and no closure for Laken Riley, the gentle and kind young woman who wanted to devote her life as a nurse to caring for others who needed her help.

“Often times people use the word closure at times like this and I acknowledge there is no closure,” said Judge H. Patrick Haggard

There is no “closure” because she is dead, and he is alive. The pro-Soros lefty prosecutor did not seek the death penalty in this gruesome murder, and was recently turned out of office by the voters who are fed up with rising violent crime and the leftist enablers.

Even before the family fully processes what has happened to them, the Democrats  push to lock in the damage they’ve done with their wave of millions upon millions of illegal migrants. Every time another criminal migrant assaults someone–and at least 1.4 million have already been ordered deported by judges–it will be as if Laken Riley and her family have been assaulted again, and again.

Every political outburst, every appeal, every national news “retrospective” on the chaos on the border will rip off the scab. Day after day. Think of the silence that flutters around Riley now. Her family and friends have been enveloped by the wings of a special angel: the angel of grief.

Even as the Biden/Obama regime tries to cement the overwhelming migrant catastrophe, making it easier for illegal immigrants to avoid federal law, the Democrats loudly brag about stopping deportations of illegals that President Trump was elected to accomplish.

So how can there be closure, especially since Democrats are single minded in their rabid desire to self-destruct while denying political reality? And as they push wrong-headed policy–like open borders immigration–American voters have overwhelmingly said “No.”

Seeking “closure” is such an easy thing to say. It sounds cheap when compared to the broken hearts of her family.

Ibarra broke into the country illegally and stayed in New York hotels courtesy of Democrat President Joe Biden and American taxpayers provided other benefits, from food, to clothing and transportation, even as native born Americans were pushed to the back of the line. Big Democrat cities like Chicago, New York and Los Angeles were forced to cut back on city services, including police, as the illegal migrant invasion consumed resources.

American taxpayers even paid for Ibarra’s flight to Georgia. And once there he began his “hunting” for females.

He found his prey in the beautiful soul of Laken Riley. She was jogging alone on a jogging trail near her school.

And it started and ended with a rock.

She fought for her life bravely for more than 15 minutes. Think of that. How many breaths do you take in 15 minutes? How many times could you be clubbed in the head by a vicious predator while fighting him off? And think of her mother Allyson Phillips, frantically texting, to find out what had happened to Laken. After she failed to answer the phone, her mother texted her several times, first casually and then frantically.

If you’re a parent, you’ve been there. We’ve all done this, haven’t we? We’ve all been there, waiting for a response, praying for our children and weakly bargaining with God.

“At 9:37 a.m., her mother texted, “Call me when you can.” Reported CBS news. “She called twice, and when her calls went unanswered, she texted her daughter at 9:58 a.m., “You’re making me nervous not answering while you’re out running. Are you OK?” Phillips texted again at 11:47 a.m., writing, “Please call me. I’m worried sick about you.” She and other family members continued to call Riley.”

Think of all the American women out there who are prey to such vicious predators, with millions upon millions of migrants encouraged by Democrats to enter illegally and rush the borders. They rush in from broken, violent nations like Venezuela that opened their prisons.

If you have a daughter, a sister, a wife, a friend, you must think about this. You have a responsibility to think about it. If you are a citizen, then you have a moral obligation to consider this. Are you capable of training a Rottweiler or other protection dog to stand by her and not hurt children? Will you give your daughter a gun and hope that the kindness and compassion you’ve tried to encourage in her heart won’t cause her to freeze when the time comes to pull that trigger?

Because Ibarra is not alone, and there are others like him out there too, and you know it. His is not an isolated case.

Tom Homan is the former Immigration and Customs Enforcement chief who has been nominated by Trump to be a real border “czar.” The other evening Homan was interviewed by the prominent conservative Laura Ingraham on her Fox News program, “The Ingraham Angle.” She speaks directly, forcefully, and so does Homan.

Homan is a tough cop. He spoke emotionally about the young female victims, of rape and sex-trafficking along the border and looking into victims’ eyes.

“When you look in their eyes and everything’s been ripped from their souls,” he told Ingraham.

There is no closure because she’s dead and he’s alive. The woke prosecutor did not seek the death penalty because, she said, it would cause “collateral consequences to undocumented defendants.” The left is all about justice for those who aren’t Americans. But for Americans, they let what happened to Laken Riley happen. Sorry for your loss is what Vice President Kamala Harris said, and that callousness helped cost her the election.

There is no justice for the victim or her family either. Or for us.

Because even as proper attention was being paid to the brutal killer and Tren de Aragua gang member Ibarra, two things were happening to deny Laken Riley justice: One is the quiet push by Biden and his oily creature Alejandro Mayorkas to ensure even more harm before they leave office, by loosening immigration regulations, allowing more illegal migrants to fly under the radar and disappear. And the other are the Democrats inciting anger at the Trump policy of deporting those who are threats.

And that is precisely what American voters want to stop.

According to an editorial in The New York Post:

“With just two months to go before Team Trump takes over, the Biden crew is getting set to roll out an ICE app — starting in New York in December — that’ll let illegal migrants skip periodic, in-person check-ins that are required while they wait for court dates that could be years off.

“Right now, those who miss in-person check-ins are subject to deportation. But those who “check in” by app won’t be, making it harder to deport (or even find) them.”

And the other is demonstrating why voters lost faith in Democrats to protect them.

Though a majority of American voters re-elected Donald Trump to the White House in large part because he promised to secure the border as he had done in the past, the Democrats were idiotic enough to double down on their wide-open border policy.

They’re trying every scheme to thwart the will of the voters on this.

According to left-wing MSNBC (which is failing in the ratings) the left-wing American Civil Liberties Union is mapping out a response and enlisting Democrat support.

“Govs. Gavin Newsom of California, Maura Healey of Massachusetts and JB Pritzker of Illinois are all discussing how they’re going to safeguard their undocumented communities. They know one of the things that Trump does very well is unleashing terror against his adversaries, and in this case, which will be blue states.”

Terror? For enforcing the law? After 76 million Americans demanded the law be enforced. The left is fond of chanting “no justice, no peace.”

How about the terror in the eyes of Laken Riley, or those children raped by illegal migrants in Massachusetts? The Democrats and broken corporate media keep screaming about a new anti-Trump resistance. The act as children playing costume drama.

But what about those children who are preyed upon while they are ignored by Democrats?

And the tens of thousands and more of children who are preyed upon, trafficked, and sold into sex slavery by the Mexican drug cartels, as Democrats scream and whine and seek support from their corrupt corporate media allies, and gin-up theatrical resistance to deportation of the predators?

In the world that the neo-Marxists leave behind, what is left for all those children, those women?

Only the love of Christ.

And the hushed wings of the angel of grief.

 

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About the author: John Kass spent decades as a political writer and news columnist in Chicago working at a major metropolitan newspaper. He is co-host of The Chicago Way podcast. And he just loves his “No Chumbolone” hat, because johnkassnews.com is a “No Chumbolone” Zone where you can always get a cup of common sense.

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Comments 34

  3. These communist governors are reprehensible. They are doing everything in their power to infest communities with criminals. Why? First, because they need to backfill their population loss with bodies to sustain house districts, federal aid and votes. And don’t tell me illegals can’t vote. And second, they don’t suffer the consequences. They live in palaces that are far away from any danger and guarded by security paid for on the taxpayer’s dime. There is only upside for them. Disgusting slime of the earth they are. Their loathing for everyday Americans is on full display.

  4. I watched Mr Homan on Ingraham’s show. May he hold on to the compassion and resolve so badly needed to save our citizens and our country from the tragic fate of this young lady and countless other victims.

  5. I’ve stopped caring about what the left thinks. Human trash like this need to be executed, quickly, painfully and publicly. Let the others see what the consequences of their actions lead to.
    And this POS is just a low-level thug. Think about all the trained terrorists who the democrats have allowed to invade our country. We just need to survive a couple more months until Trump gets in. Survive is the key- no matter how determined Biden is to kill us all in World War 3.

  6. There are no words or thoughts that I have left to describe how much I despise the Democrat politicians AND THEIR VOTERS who walk in lockstep with them on illegal immigration. All have the blood of Laken Riley on their hands.

  7. Sad, but it’s the truth. No once cares about the victims, and carnage reaped upon innocent victims, their only sin for just being ordinary Americans trying to live life.

    We never learn from history. After Castro released the prisoners from Cuba, no one remembers the drug wars and murders from Florida up to the east coast, to the Midwest.

    Prayers for the Riley family and all the sheep, hunted down by these wolves preying on the innocents of society.

    Great column JK as always, the story will be buried by the mainstream media, just imagine the broken hearts the Riley family will suffer again as Thanksgiving and Xmass come upon us.

  8. The ONLY reason the democrats want this to continue is votes! Whether the illegals vote or not in reality they DO get a vote by merely upping the population so more representation goes to the high population states. Just look where the majority were sent to. All blue states. They want to tip the balance of power. Thank God our founding fathers formed the Electoral College to protect us!

    1. Public hangings, just for Venezuelan gangs. They are calling for cops to be killed in Indiana. Let them feel the hammer of the US military. Our military can be steeled right here in our hemisphere

  11. Excellent column. Although our lefty prosecutor did not stand for reelection (concerned she’d be turned out of office so couldn’t be a good look in the expected Harris administration ) her legacy was a slap in the face with Jussie’s reversal by the Illinois Supreme Court. Fixed decisions on her part guaranteed a 5th Amendment get out of jail free card. Can’t have a Moochelle buddy languish in prison can we ?
    Backfill the population loss. Keep the numbers up for federal monies and US house reps. They don’t have to vote although I’m sure many did. The Dems led by people like Durbin Pritzger Newsom Witmer, etc will do all they can to keep the POWER.
    Keep the columns coming. A good cup
    Of midwestern common sense. We are all fed up. That’s what the vote was about. But the left will cling to their ways much as they accuse the right of clinging to their bibles and guns. Thank you America. The rudder will never turn hard over but course correction is headed our way.

  12. Good work John.

    I have darker suspicions about why the democratic socialists here want to import so many military age males and criminals to put them among us. I pray to God I am wrong.

    God bless America.

  14. Very well stated. If it be of any comfort to Laken’s loved ones, I believe the public horror over her sacrifice to the Marxist god of power-by-any-means galvanized our nation to vote its eradication.
    Silently, the public “said her name” as they voted for Trump. I did.

  15. As I am reading this the local news is reporting the survivors of Hurricane Helene in the Carolinas are starting to gather equipment and clothing for the approaching winter. Clothing, power generators and other stuff since snow is expected. I’m sure these people will sleep better in their tents knowing the Democrats have our new voters sleeping sound and warm in various luxury hotels in New York and Chicago. News outlets in Chicago have also reported our New Democrats are not too pleased with the services they’ve received and demand more. Since Pritzker and Johnson have vowed to hide them it’s up to the taxpayers of Illinois to get the bill. It’s only fitting since they elected these abominations…

  16. “The woke prosecutor did not seek the death penalty because, she said, it would cause “collateral consequences to undocumented defendants.”
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
    Actually, it should not be the fear, it should be the result.
    I am all-in for collateral consequences. Collateral consequences make law enforcement easier and more effective.

  17. After decades of aborting their future voters in the womb, the Dems had to find replacements. Our weather vane Dick Durbin has been pushing to make them citizens. Proudly pushing in a congressional speech and legislation in ’21.

    The crime is merely collateral damage. The dead and damaged American citizens considered, as in war, as “acceptable losses. To the Dems, as usual, the end justifies the means.

  19. All that this monster deserves is death, in a timely and most painful manner possible, to serve as an example and warning for other monsters like him who are lurking out there and ready to claim another innocent victim. Revulsion is the only feeling that I have for him and for all the fools who are in favor of protecting, supporting, and frankly encouraging the atrocities to continue happening. Governor Fat Ass and Mayor Nitwit make my skin crawl every time they open their mouths regarding resisting Trump and his legal efforts to deport the scum, making them no better than the illegals. They are the very election deniers that Trump was accused of being. Homan cannot take over as Border Czar soon enough.

  20. While I really do think that life in prison w/out parole is a worse punishment than the death penalty [assuming that one can be confident that the felon will remain locked up for life]; not calling for the death penalty in a case like this is foolish. All societies have a death penalty, you have no choice; the real question is whether that penalty is meted out by a judge & jury, or by people on the street. The end result of decisions like this will be that no cop-shooters will be taken alive and vigilante justice will become more prevalent. The latter of which often gets the wrong person as anyone of age in the 70s and 80s can remember.

  21. For that dirt-bag,…his sentencing would be a public hanging. That’s right,…to the gallows. It would be publicly shown by cable networks that cared to show him swing. Probably wouldn’t happen though. I would be glad to pull the lever on the trap door.

    Any illegal miscreant who kills innocent US citizens such as Laken Riley would face the same fate. A strong message would be sent though out the Land.

  22. I’m just going to say it short and sweet. Katie Hobbs, Jb Pritzker, Jared Polis, Maura Healy, Tim Walz, Phil Murphy, Kathy Hochul, Josh Shapiro, Jay Inslee, Tony Evers – you can all go to hell!

  23. Can we take some comfort from this these thoughts?
    In prison, killers of women are very low on the food chain. The other convicts will hopefully soon rake vicious revenge. He will be looking over his shoulder 24/7/365 for the rest of his life. Justice may finally find him. Let’s hope.
    The DemocRats opened the floodgates of illegal immigration thinking that the illegals and their families will vote for them. How did that work out for them in the last election?
    As always happens, everything pushed by Dems and the “presstocracy” results in nothing good.
    Have we finally woken up?

  24. Beautiful words from a gifted writer. Thank you John Kass . God bless the police officers who searched for Laken, and the first responders who hoped to save her. Many subscribers of John Kass News grew up in immigrant households. Our parents or grandparents came to Chicago from troubled nations, where wars never ceased. Now it’s the USA that is under siege from a foreign army, and elected Democrats refuse to close the gates. Greedy Obama /Biden loyalists are grinning at the prospect of naturalizing deviants like Laken Riley’s killer. Those devious politicians insult men like your father, who swore an oath of loyalty during his citizenship ceremony. Worst of them all is grotesque Pritzker, who calls himself a “warrior”. In truth he’s a mercenary in servitude to smugglers, human traffickers and drug cartels. Pritzker’s boast is a slap in the face to loved ones of the late Tiffany Thrasher, strangled in her Schaumburg apartment 7 years ago . Her killer should have been deported because of his history of violent crimes.

  25. The 14th Amendment says “Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”
    Illegals have no rights and should not be in the position to prime those of us who are lawful citizens. Biden’s policy is nothing more that “voter packing.” The illegals, if and when they vote, will surely vote for the people who gave them all the free stuff.

    1. Yeah that’s the problem. Because it is well established – and not just by left wing liberals – that illegal immigrants – in fact anyone here in the US legally or illegally – have substantive rights under the US Constitution: due process and equal protection under the law. In fact their kids (via the SCOTUS Plyer decision have a right to a free public education as well). So yeah, mass deportation conceivably could wind up tied up in courts all over this land. That is one reason why prevention was so important, namely building a wall, having Trump’s “stay in Mexico” policy. Of course all this was negated by the Biden administration and so here we are. My hope is that if one is just caught living here without documentation, but not actually seen crossing the border (which is a criminal offense) that then, in my understanding, is merely a civil offense, and you are much less entitled to protections reserved for those accused of felonies i.e. legal representation and therefore much easier to deport. Anyway, you can bet that the “immigration lawyers” are awaiting a lot of business. You can be sure of that.

  27. Thanks again for a great, sad column, John. I can’t imagine how these families feel knowing that all these murders and rapes could have been prevented.

    Until we fully implement the death penalty, there will not be justice. And not death in thirty years; death in a matter of days. Between DNA, and criminals filming themselves, when there is no doubt just please get them gone!

    I am sick that we have to pay a single dollar to house murderers.

    You know how I’d like the death penalty to be administered? In a private, soundproofed room in the basement of a jail. With the murderer tied to a chair, and any family members who want to, one minute each with a baseball bat. That would be justice. Not an easy way out with a gunshot or a hanging or an injection. Why should the murderer have a painless death?

    Until the death penalty is fully enforced, we won’t know how much of a deterrent it will be be. But at least the potential victim citizens in our country might have a chance.

  28. I remain skeptical about the deportation effort. The Trump administration will have every legal argument thrown against them for attempting to deport illegal immigrants, and I envision a scenario where deportations end up in court for one flimsy reason or another.

    1. That’s a given. The ACLU and their brethren are already getting ready. Again my understanding is most illegals in this country are violating civil and not criminal statutes since merely being here illegally is a civil offense known as “unlawful presence” (only criminal if caught crossing the border). That also means they should be easier to deport – that in fact is the legal remedy – since they will not be subjected to the high bar of criminal due process. I hope I’m right on this.

  29. A very moving and stirring column. Thank you, John.

    Good comments here about how the Left will block deportations in the courts. That is how they slowed slowed down Wall construction in his first term. However, he appointed many federal judges, largely because the Democrats eliminated the filibuster in Obama’s 2nd term, so that is good reason to hope their legal maneuvers will be less effective this time.

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