Dueling protests make noise outside Athens City Hall over alleged sanctuary city status

ATHENS, Ga. - The Athens-Clarke County Commission meeting was interrupted when a protester stormed in accusing Mayor Kelly Girtz of corruption. 

"You are going to resign. You’re not going to flag this meeting. You’re not going to let the people not hear what’s going on in this room," the protester yelled.

"There is a process for public input," the mayor responded as Athens-Clarke County police officers escorted him from the room.

Tensions have been riding high since the murder of nursing student Laken Riley on the campus of the University of Georgia. The man accused in her murder was in the country illegally. It has sparked a heated debate locally and fueled an overall fire of passions over the immigration crisis nationally.

The public comment section of the meeting was filled with many voicing concerns over the murder.

"The death of Laken Riley was a direct result of the conscious decision not to comply with the Immigration (and) Customs Enforcement," one resident remarked during the meeting.

Athens approves real-time crime center

The embattled mayor signed off on enhancements to the city’s surveillance camera system and a real-time crime center it’s building during Tuesday’s meeting.

The system would tie public and private cameras into a unified system and staff the center 24/7. It also would expand the area's camera array to places where data indicates more police observation is needed,

The unified government is also looking to purchase ATVs to help officers get to areas that are hard to quickly traverse on foot.

RELATED: Georgia House passes bill requiring police to help arrest undocumented immigrants after Laken Riley's killing

Protests outside Athens City Hall

Outside, on the steps of Athens City Hall, protesters aligned with former President Donald Trump’s claim that accused killer Jose Ibarra came to Athens because he knew he would be safe from ICE, made their voices heard. Some believe Athens has positioned itself as a so-called sanctuary city, if not in name, then in practice. It’s something Mayor Girtz has steadfastly denied.

"We expected we were expecting this to happen any day. We’ve been sitting on pins and needles. We know that we’ve got some bad people here and our mayor refuses to budge," said Athens resident Linda Krotzki.

Krotzi was part of the Make Athens Safe Again rally, one of dueling protests outside the meeting on Tuesday evening. Across the street, a counterprotest accusing the Republicans of politicizing Riley’s death and stoking racism to score political points in an election year.

"Totally inappropriate. This should be a time of mourning. Showing respect to the family and to support each other," one protester said.

Some of those protesters claimed that immigration isn’t to blame for Riley’s death, but rather sexism.

"It didn’t happen because of immigration. It happened because of the way men in our society are socialized," said UGA student activist Trey Holloway.

"If we had followed proper police procedure, he would have been apprehended and deported. That didn’t happen here," said Krotzki.

A Trump-era Department of Justice study found people who are in the country illegally commit violent crimes half as often as natural-born citizens.

Jose Ibarra's brother, Diego, was also arrested. Diego Ibarra allegedly produced a fake green card to authorities, who initially stopped him during the search for Riley's killer because he matched the description of the suspect.

Diego Ibarra appeared in federal court in Macon on Monday. The judge scheduled a standard preliminary hearing regarding probable cause and the government's motion to detail for 10 a.m. March 7. If convicted, Diego faces 10 years in prison.

Jose Ibarra is being held at the Athens-Clarke Jail. He has decided not to seek bail.