Progressive prosecutor in county where Laken Riley was found dead at hands of illegal migrant loses reelection

Laken Riley murder: Jose Ibarra's DNA hearing

The accused killer of a nursing student on the University of Georgia campus appeared in court on Friday morning. This comes with just two weeks before his trial begins.

ATHENS, Ga. - A progressive prosecutor in the Georgia county where Laken Riley was found murdered by an illegal immigrant lost her reelection bid.

District Attorney of Athens-Clarke and Oconee counties, Deborah Gonzalez, lost by a landslide on Tuesday. The incumbent lost to Republican Kalki Yalamanchili by 75% of the vote.

Gonzalez was elected in 2020 in an election bid funded by progressive donors pushing for criminal justice reform in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests and the defund the police movement.

Riley was a nursing student at Augusta University who was found dead near a lake on the University of Georgia campus on Feb. 22. An illegal immigrant has been charged with her murder.

MORE: Laken Riley murder: Jose Ibarra trial set for November as judge rules on pretrial motions

At the time of her election to the top criminal justice spot, Gonzalez championed that she was "unapologetically" progressive.

"I think part of it is because I’m outspoken, and I am unapologetically a Democrat, and I consider myself a progressive prosecutor," Gonzalez said of the criticism.

District Attorney Deborah Gonzalez (Western Judicial Circuit)

"There are many prosecutors who don’t like that word — progressive — but to me, what it means is that we need to look at this differently. ... We need to always ask ourselves, ‘Is this in the interest of justice?’" she said.

After Jose Ibarra, an illegal migrant from Venezuela, was charged with her murder, residents turned to elected officials for answers.

Laken Riley

The Georgia legislature proposed HB 1105 following her death, with Republican Gov. Brian Kemp signing it into law in May 2024.

"Georgians have witnessed the disastrous impact lawlessness is having on communities across the country," Kemp said during the signing.

"Thanks to the work of our legislative partners in the General Assembly, we are able to once again send the message that such lawlessness will find no safe haven in Georgia," he said. "I am proud to sign legislation that boosts our recruitment of law enforcement officers, makes our communities safer, and provides our judicial system with even tougher tools to bring violent offenders to justice."