Laken Riley's father says people on 'both sides' are 'politicizing' his daughter's murder

The father of murdered nursing student Laken Riley says people are politicizing her death to bolster their agendas and inflame people's emotions.

Riley, 22, was bludgeoned to death in February on the University of Georgia’s campus. The suspect who was charged in her killing is José Ibarra, a Venezuelan migrant who was in the country illegally at the time of Riley's death -- a detail conservatives have seized on, saying it represents the failure of President Joe Biden's border policies.

Speaking on NBC's Today show, Jason Riley said his daughter's death has "incited a lot of people" due to it being politicized, and added since his daughter's death, “there’s people on both sides that have lashed out at [his and Laken’s mother’s] families."

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Ibarra, 26, who is accused of attacking Riley while she was out for a jog, has been charged with felony murder, malice murder, kidnapping, aggravated assault and aggravated battery. According to reports, Ibarra is a member of the Venezuelan organized crime group "Tren de Aragua" and was first arrested for illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in September of 2022, but was then released into the U.S. on parole after just 24 hours in custody and was given "free rein" in the U.S. until October of this year.

“I think it’s being used politically to get those votes,” Jason Riley said of his daughter’s death. “It makes me angry. I feel like, you know, they’re just using my daughter’s name for that. And she was much better than that, and she should be raised up for the person that she is. She was an angel," he continued.

As The Guardian points out, Donald Trump has been at the forefront of those trying to link Riley's death to President Joe Biden, saying she “would be alive today” were it not for Biden's policies.