MSNBC is facing backlash after its legal analyst wrote an opinion piece that has been viewed as sympathizing with the illegal immigrant who brutally murdered college student Laken Riley.
“Laken Riley’s killer never stood a chance,” the MSNBC headline originally read.
The headline was later changed to “The guilt of Laken Riley’s killer was never in doubt.”
On Thursday, a judge in Athens, Ga., found Tren de Aragua gang member Jose Ibarra, 25, guilty on all counts in the murder of Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student, after hearing overwhelming evidence including Riley’s DNA under Ibarra’s fingernails and Ibarra’s fingerprint on Riley’s cellphone.
Ibarra, who had waived his right to a jury trial, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
“The outcome of this trial was never in doubt,” MSNBC legal analyst Danny Cevallos wrote on Thursday. “The verdict was going to be guilty. The sentence was going to be life without parole.”
He called it a “hopeless” case for the defense and said that is likely why Ibarra waived his right to a jury.
“But it apparently had no chance with the judge, either, since he was convicted anyway,” Cevallos wrote.
He ended the piece by concluding that the defense counsel was handed an “awful, unwinnable case” and made the right decision with a bench trial — arguing a jury trial would have been a waste and may have prolonged the “traumatic experience” for Riley’s loved ones.
President-elect Donald Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., was quick to express his disgust at the MSNBC headline.
“You literally can’t make up this level of depravity,” Don Jr. wrote in a post on X. “These people are sick. The guy is a murderer. He’s an illegal alien that killed an innocent young woman but MSNBC would rather go to bat for him. However, much you hate MSNBC it’s not enough!”
“Look at how @MSNBC framed the conviction and sentencing of Laken Riley’s killer,” another user on X wrote. “Jose Ibarra never stood a chance? No. Laken Riley never stood a chance against this monster. Absolutely sickening.”
Others questioned the point of the MSNBC article and expressed confusion over Cevallos’ argument.
The Augusta University nursing student was murdered while out on a run and was found dead in a wooded area near the Georgia campus on Feb. 22.
The killing became a central talking point for the president-elect and other conservatives arguing in favor of mass deportations, claiming loose border policies that let in more migrants led to a spike in crime.
In July, Trump mentioned Riley during his speech accepting the Republican Party’s presidential nomination and blamed President Biden and other Democrats for her death.
“The illegal who killed our beloved Laken Riley was just found GUILTY on all counts for his horrific crimes,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform after the verdict. “It is time to secure our Border, and remove these criminals and thugs from our Country, so nothing like this can happen again!”