An elderly pizza parlor owner from Georgia is running for county commissioner in Athens, the city where Laken Riley was killed by “blunt force trauma.”
Sidney Anne Waters, owner of Mama Sid’s Pizza, is running for District 8 commissioner in Athens-Clarke County with the slogan “A new piece for District 8.”
“I suddenly got a reality check that there are many of us in Athens who really didn’t know what our government was doing,” she said Fox on Thursday.
“The day before qualifying ended, I decided to go in and put my name on the ticket,” she continued, with a group of supporters behind her in the pizzeria.
The community is on edge after an illegal Venezuelan immigrant allegedly killed nursing student Riley and “severely disfigured” her body and skull, Waters said.
Sidney Anne Waters, owner of a Georgia pizzeria, is running for county commissioner in Athens, the city where Laken Riley was killed by ‘blunt force trauma’
Waters, owner of Mama Sid’s Pizza, is running for District 8 commissioner in Athens-Clarke County with the slogan “A new piece for District 8.”
The community is on edge after an illegal Venezuelan immigrant allegedly killed nursing student Riley (pictured) and “severely disfigured” her body and skull, Waters said.
“Everyone is very concerned because we have discovered that our local government is not transparent with us. They have resolutions and agreements that the public had no idea about,” Waters said.
“I don’t really know how familiar our committee was with the 2019 resolution, which opened up a lot of freedoms. We are not a sanctuary city, but we have a sanctuary policy that kind of controls us.”
Waters is referring to the resolution signed in 2019 by Athens-Clarke County Mayor Kelly Girtz and the commission’s clerk, Jean Spratlin.
The resolution states that the local government “welcomes people from all countries and backgrounds and strives to foster a community in which individuals and families of all statuses feel safe, can thrive and breathe freely.”
It also says, “our immigrants and undocumented neighbors, especially those of Latin American descent, face fears and threats every day from individuals and institutions like ICE.”
Girtz previously warned “against conflating immigration and crime” and argued that Athens does not technically fall under the “sanctuary city” category.
A sanctuary city limits or rejects cooperation with the federal government in protecting illegal immigrants, in violation of state law.
“Everyone is very concerned because we have discovered that our local government is not transparent with us. They have resolutions and agreements that the public had no idea about,” said Waters (pictured with husband).
Waters is referring to the resolution signed in 2019 by Athens-Clarke County Mayor Kelly Girtz (pictured) and commission clerk Jean Spratlin.
22-year-old Riley never returned from her jog last month and her body was discovered in a field on the Athens campus
Jose Ibarra, 26, is accused of using a mysterious object as a weapon to kill 22-year-old Augusta University student
Waters said, “Mayor Girtz just came out one night and read that policy and signed it. He personally petitioned the U.S. Department of State to allow us to become a refugee resettlement site.
“Nobody knew about that, so what does this all mean? How many people have we welcomed into our community and who are they?”
“When you stand outside looking in and talking to them during different chamber meetings, you don’t think they’re listening.”
“And the way you get them to listen is to be part of them…I want to be part of the committee so that I can at least express my opinions and know that they are being heard.”
Riley, 22, never returned from her jog last month and her body was discovered in a field on the Athens campus.
Jose Antonio Ibarra was arrested for murder and has been charged with malice murder, murder, aggravated assault, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, kidnapping, obstructing a 911 call and concealing the death of another.
The 26-year-old crossed the border into El Paso, Texas, in September 2022, but had been released from a detention center due to lack of space, according to NewsNation reporter Ali Bradley.
Police said Riley was killed by blunt force trauma. They say Ibarra dragged her body to a remote area to conceal the death, according to an arrest affidavit seen by CBS News.
Police have said Ibarra, who lived in Athens, did not know Riley, but campus surveillance footage and other technology led them to the migrant.
Ibarra is accused of “severely disfiguring Riley’s body by disfiguring her skull,” and is also accused of preventing Riley from calling 911 when he allegedly grabbed her Thursday between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Officials confirmed that Ibarra is not a U.S. citizen and did not know or have any relationship with Riley
Riley, 22, was found dead Thursday afternoon after her roommate reported her missing and said she had not returned from her jog
Republicans, including Marjorie Taylor Greene, have called for Ibarra to receive the death penalty, saying ‘deportation is not enough’
Riley’s body was found the same day on campus in a wooded area near Lake Herrick, with trails popular with runners and walkers.
Republicans, including Marjorie Taylor Greene, have called for Ibarra to receive the death penalty.
“Ibarra is an illegal alien and murdered a young woman the age of my own children. Deportation is not enough. He deserves the death penalty,” Georgia’s representative said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
“You want to enter our country ILLEGALLY and kill one of our girls. CAPITAL PUNISHMENT!’ She added another.
Georgia still has the death penalty, but has not executed anyone since 2020.
A 2020 Texas DOJ report found that, compared to undocumented immigrants, U.S.-born citizens are more than two times more likely to be arrested for violent crimes, 2.5 times more likely to be arrested for drug crimes, and more than four times more likely to be arrested. arrested for property crimes.