The murder of a 22-year-old nursing student in Athens Georgia could decide the US presidential elections

By Abby Amoakuh

Updated Mar 2, 2024 at 12:40 PM

Reading time: 2 minutes

55483

Hello and welcome to another edition of our weekly recaps for the upcoming 2024 presidential election! This week, we have something really special in store for you. We’re going to be delving into how one local tragedy could end up determining the course of the upcoming political battle between Donald Trump and Joe Biden.

What happened to Laken Riley?

On 22 February 2024, the police in Georgia received a call from a friend of 22-year-old Laken Riley. They were concerned that she had not returned from a morning run at a local field and around 20 minutes later, officers were dispatched to the scene to look for Riley. Unfortunately, her disfigured body was discovered in the field, sparking a national debate about immigration and security.

Riley’s body was found in a wooded area behind Lake Herrick. The young woman had obtained “visible injuries,” including a defaced skull. Despite officers administering emergency aid on the scene, the 22-year-old was pronounced dead shortly after.

The police identified the murder suspect as a 26-year-old Venezuelan man who entered the US illegally, pushing the case from a local tragedy to the centre of a national immigration debate.

The suspect allegedly used an object to attack Riley before concealing her body in the woods, police said, as reported by The Times.

Consequently, Republican politicians and voters across the nation used the case as an opportunity to state that the Biden administration has not done enough to prevent illegal immigration and toughen detentions of undocumented migrants.

https://twitter.com/seanhannity/status/1763518882227040683

Republican frontrunner Donald Trump even took it upon himself to visit Eagle Pass, Texas, which borders Mexico. During his visit, he expressed his condolences to Riley’s family and promised mass deportations if elected.

“A beautiful 22-year-old nursing student from Georgia was barbarically attacked,” he said. “She was on a morning run… she was on a morning run to keep herself in shape. She was a beautiful young woman,” Trump said of Riley. “I spoke to her parents yesterday, they are incredible people. They are devastated beyond belief. She was so beautiful in so many ways.”

He continued: “The monster, the charge, charged in the death is an illegal alien migrant who was led into our country and released into our communities by Crooked Joe Biden,” Trump said, adding that he “took the name from Hillary because she’s no longer relevant, I guess.”

Migrant arrivals at the border have risen to record highs during President Joe Biden’s administration, with polls suggesting that more than two-thirds of Americans disapprove of Biden’s handling of the issue. The newfound attention that Riley’s death is bringing to the already polarising and politically unpredictable issue of immigration could potentially pose a threat to Biden’s reelection.

https://twitter.com/CB618444/status/1763313859824152576
https://twitter.com/Chicago1Ray/status/1763224800091115549
https://twitter.com/lavern_spicer/status/1763328458900615497

The transfer of power in 2020 played a key role in the intensifying border crisis, according to the BBC.

Although most of Trump’s immigration plans like building a wall never came to fruition, the arising headlines created the impression that the US was closing its borders. However, with the Biden administration, there was a shift in both tone and policy with deportations falling and no talk of a wall.

Migrants got the impression that the US was loosening its policies again, leading to increased immigration.

This, alongside Biden’s fading appeal to young voters, is undoubtedly another hurdle on his road to reelection.

While Trump’s attempt to villainise immigrants at large was not met with approval from either side of both the voting and political aisles (#Trumpisnotwell is trending again), it is becoming obvious that the tragic death of Laken Riley has handed Republicans another asset to portray immigrants as the root of most trouble and degenerate Biden in the coming weeks.

https://twitter.com/piyushmittal/status/1763345934845665510
https://twitter.com/RpsAgainstTrump/status/1763285912866144613

Keep On Reading

By Alma Fabiani

Biden’s impeachment inquiry explained and how abortion will impact the 2024 US elections

By Charlie Sawyer

Donald Trump warns of chaos and bedlam if his name is kept off the US presidential election ballot

By Fatou Ferraro Mboup

Here’s why Donald Trump is skipping the third 2024 Republican presidential debate in Miami

By Charlie Sawyer

Taxing the rich and a 4-day work week: Why the Green Party’s manifesto is trending on TikTok

By Charlie Sawyer

Lily Allen creates an OnlyFans account to sell feet pics for $10 per month

By Abby Amoakuh

MAGA-themed fashion show goes viral as netizens discover it’s not a joke

By Charlie Sawyer

The Taliban just banned the media from airing images of anything with a soul

By Fatou Ferraro Mboup

TikTokers rally behind Simu Liu after he calls out bubble tea whitewashing on Dragon’s Den

By Fatou Ferraro Mboup

Liam Payne facing harassment accusations from ex-fiancée Maya Henry over obsessive contact

By Abby Amoakuh

Democratic National Convention 2024: The Obamas bring the house down and Gus Walz proudly cries

By Louis Shankar

5 essential TV shows to watch before the chaos of the 2024 US presidential election

By Fatou Ferraro Mboup

Beetlejuice lips are the latest TikTok beauty trend urging Gen Z to embrace their natural looks

By Abby Amoakuh

The women in male fields TikTok trend is now being used by men to air their own dating grievances

By Fatou Ferraro Mboup

Study reveals alarming suicide rates among female doctors linked to misogyny and harassment

By Abby Amoakuh

How Republicans are slowly but surely excluding trans people from the US presidential election

By Fatou Ferraro Mboup

The Summer I Turned Pretty star Gavin Casalegno accused of repeatedly cheating on his wife

By J'Nae Phillips

Body armour and chainmail: Gen Z’s TikTok obsession with knightcore is bringing the Middle Ages back

By Abby Amoakuh

More than 30 female UK politicians targeted by deepfake porn campaign to humiliate them

By Fatou Ferraro Mboup

Grace Jabbari drops assault lawsuit against Jonathan Majors, but unanswered questions remain

By Fatou Ferraro Mboup

Zara pulls children’s T-shirt after backlash over strawberry design