NBC’s coverage of the Laken Riley murder verdict in Athens, Georgia called upon familiar tropes that might lead viewers to believe that they are watching Telemundo instead. Immigration advocacy was presented to viewers as a substitute for journalism.
Here is the report in its entirety,as aired on NBC Nightly News on Wednesday, November 20th, 2024 (click "expand" to view transcript):
NBC NIGHTLY NEWS
11/20/24
6:35 PM
LESTER HOLT: In Athens, Georgia today, a judge found an undocumented migrant guilty of three felony murder counts for the killing of Laken Riley on the University of Georgia campus. Priya Sridhar has late details on the case that became a focal point of the presidential race.
PRIYA SRIDHAR: After a trial that lasted four days, 26-year-old Jose Antonio Ybarra, tonight sentenced to life without parole for the brutal killing of 22-year-old Laken Riley.
ALLYSON PHILLIPS: There is no end to the pain, suffering and loss that we have experienced or will continue to endure.
SRIDHAR: Her family and loved ones, emotional. Seeing the police body camera video, showing the moment Laken Riley's mother first learned her daughter died. Prosecutors say the nursing student was out for a morning jog on the University of Georgia campus in February, when Ybarra, who was lurking in the woods nearby, attempted to rape her, and then killed her.
SHEILA ROSS: Not only does the physical evidence identify him, the video evidence identifies him.
SRIDHAR: Despite numerous studies that indicate undocumented immigrants commit fewer crimes, the case has become a flashpoint in the national debate over immigration during the presidential election cycle. Ibarra an undocumented immigrant from Venezuela.
DONALD TRUMP: Right here in Georgia, our nation was robbed of a brilliant 22-year-old nursing student, Laken Riley.
SRIDHAR: During the trial, the state presenting surveillance video showing Laken Riley's final moments, her last text message to her mother, and her attempt to call 911, before Ybarra attacked her.
ROSS: She did fight. And it is a direct result of that fight that gives you all the physical evidence you need to convict him.
SRIDHAR” Prosecutors say Ybarra's DNA was found underneath Riley’s fingernails, his thumb print on her phone, and Riley's DNA on his jacket he wore when he committed the crime. Prosecutors say this surveillance video shows Ybarra discarding the jacket. The defense claiming the evidence was circumstantial and pointing the finger at Ybarra's brother. Tonight, Riley's family remembering her as a kind, selfless, loving friend and daughter.
JOHN PHILLIPS: The best daughter, sister, granddaughter, friend and overall person that you could ever hope to meet.
HOLT: And Priya joins us now from Athens, Georgia. And Priya, Ybarra could appeal this decision?
SRIDHAR: That's right. The judge told Ybarra he has 30 days to appeal this decision or ask for a new trial in his case. Lester.
HOLT: Priya Sridhar tonight. Thank you.
Folks are fond of saying that this case became “a focal point of the presidential race”, as anchor Lester Holt says to open the report. Regime Media coverage of the trial is littered with some variant of that phrase. And yet no one really delves into why.
Laken Riley’s killer, a member of the violent transnational Tren de Aragua gang, illegally entered into the country in September of 2022. He was apprehended and then released, making his way to New York City. While there, he incurred several criminal charges but was not handed over to ICE because New York is a sanctuary city. The killer then asks for and received a humanitarian flight to Georgia, where he would later encounter and kill Laken Riley. THESE are the reasons why this heinous murder is such a political flashpoint- this horrendous cascade of bad decision-making and refusal to be held accountable. The Biden administration, aided and abetted by the Regime Media, facilitated this murder. Plain and simple.
These are the underlying facts of the case that have gone grotesquely underreported. Instead, we get the trope about migrants criming at a lower rate than Americans. The fact is that this murderer did not displace an American rapist-killer waiting in the wings. This was a heinous crime committed by someone who should not have been allowed to enter into the country.
No amount of Regime Media spin will ever change that.
