‘Reality Check’: Georgia Restaurateur Cites Laken Riley As Reason To Run For Office
'Everybody is quite concerned'
'You're fired!' Angry residents confront Democrat mayor for defending immigration policies after Laken Riley murder
Angry residents voiced their frustration on Wednesday with Athens-Clarke County Mayor Kelly Girtz (D) for downplaying a connection between immigration chaos and the heinous murder of Laken Riley.
At a press conference, Girtz defended Athens from critics who have described it as a so-called "sanctuary city." Girtz claimed that's not true despite the city passing a resolution in 2019 welcoming all people, including immigrants living in the U.S. illegally, to Athens — essentially making the city a de facto sanctuary city.
Girtz's defensive posture drew angry outbursts from residents at the press conference.
"Liar!" multiple residents yelled.
Other residents suggested that Girtz's denials were insulting their intelligence, while others demanded his resignation. Residents also claimed that Girtz shared responsibility for Riley's death and even shouted at him, "You're fired!"'
At one point, Girtz warned people "against conflating immigration and crime." That assertion led to more outbursts from angry residents.
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A media member later asked Girtz about the 2019 resolution, and the mayor justified it by invoking Donald Trump.
"I want to say that we center our work here in Athens-Clarke County on people’s humanity, 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 speak in the most vile terms about people who were foreign-born, and you had that notion metastasizing —" Girtz said when angry residents shouted over him.
"Oh, please stop it! This is an invasion!" one man screamed. "You are lawless, mayor!"
At every turn in the presser, Girtz defended the resolution and argued it was necessary because the political environment at the time was fomenting a culture of white supremacy and xenophobia.
To the point that Athens is a de facto sanctuary city, one reporter asked Girtz how he can justify the fact that numerous undocumented immigrants lived in the same apartment as Jose Ibarra, the Venezuelan immigrant charged with Riley's murder.
"We are deeply sorry for this tragedy. Responsibility for this crime rests solely on the perpetrator," Girtz responded.
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Corporate Media Cover For Biden’s Border Invasion By Pretending Laken Riley Murder Suspect Wasn’t An Illegal Crosser
There is a pattern of preventable crimes by foreigners who crossed the open border under the Biden administration’s watch.Georgia woman apologizes amid backlash over viral video showing her smash street performer's piano, feign remorse, then allegedly swipe cash
A street performer was tickling the ivories Saturday to the delight of passersby in Athens, Georgia, when one woman apparently decided that his cover of Billy Joel's "Piano Man" was in desperate need of percussion. She sauntered over, knocked the musician's instrument to the ground, then allegedly absconded with money from his tip jar.
The video of the incident, which took place early Saturday morning, has since gone viral, prompting outrage and a response from the alleged perpetrator. While ostensibly contrite, the woman in the video, identified by the Daily Mail as Shauntae Heard, stressed in her apology that she has "seen worse downtown."
WAGA-TV reported that Andrew Hsu, a student at the University of Georgia, was playing Saturday near the corner of College Avenue and East Clayton Street.
Hsu is admittedly no stranger to unwelcome contact from drunks while performing but "never to the point where [his piano] will fall down and with the force that she used."
According to Hsu, Heard had hit his keyboard earlier in the evening, but returned around 2:30 a.m. for a repeat performance.
The video shows the perpetrator approach, press a flat hand atop the keyboard, and press down. The piano stand collapses to the ground along with the keyboard. Hsu throws up his hands in dismay, asking Heard, who appears genuinely shocked, "What's wrong with you?"
"To come out here and do this, and someone to mess it up is just not, like, a cool thing to do," Hsu told WAGA.
The pianist, who later filed a police report, claimed that extra to breaking his stand, Heard also grabbed money from his tip bucket — an accusation Heard denied in her apology on social media.
Hsu suggested that the alleged theft angered him more than the destruction.
"That's what gets me mad," said Hsu. "I'm like, 'Yo, what are you doing?' One of her friends comes back. I'm like, 'Did you just steal money from me?' And her friend says, 'Yeah, she did.'"
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In her apology on Facebook and Instagram, Heard reportedly said, "Public service announcement. I'm sorry for everyone that has seen the viral video. I have took accountability for my actions. I know it was wrong and ignorant of me but please keep my family out of it," adding that she had already spoken directly to Hsu.
"Everything is good no I didn't steal any money, and I didn't break the piano[.] I'm a human just like you all. Everyone has made mistakes nobody isn't perfect again I'm sorry, For my actions," wrote Heard. "I've seen worse downtown this is nothing compared to what I did and I know it's not wright."
The Daily Mail indicated that Heard also shared a screenshot of her texts with Hsu, where he said, "Hey, I accept your apology. ... I told people not to harass you but I can't control what happens."
"You have to know that actions have consequences," Hsu reportedly added in his correspondence with Heard. "While I feel bad that people are harassing you, you've got to own up."
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