Angry residents voiced their frustration on Wednesday with Athens-Clarke County Mayor Kelly Girtz (D) for downplaying a connection between immigration chaos and the heinous murder of Laken Riley.

At a press conference, Girtz defended Athens from critics who have described it as a so-called "sanctuary city." Girtz claimed that's not true despite the city passing a resolution in 2019 welcoming all people, including immigrants living in the U.S. illegally, to Athens — essentially making the city a de facto sanctuary city.

Girtz's defensive posture drew angry outbursts from residents at the press conference.

"Liar!" multiple residents yelled.

Other residents suggested that Girtz's denials were insulting their intelligence, while others demanded his resignation. Residents also claimed that Girtz shared responsibility for Riley's death and even shouted at him, "You're fired!"'

At one point, Girtz warned people "against conflating immigration and crime." That assertion led to more outbursts from angry residents.

A media member later asked Girtz about the 2019 resolution, and the mayor justified it by invoking Donald Trump.

"I want to say that we center our work here in Athens-Clarke County on people’s humanity, and part of everybody’s humanity is the expectation of human dignity. While 2019 was not that long ago, you might remember the dynamic we were living in in the late teens in this country, where you had the president of the United States speak in the most vile terms about people who were foreign-born, and you had that notion metastasizing —" Girtz said when angry residents shouted over him.

"Oh, please stop it! This is an invasion!" one man screamed. "You are lawless, mayor!"

At every turn in the presser, Girtz defended the resolution and argued it was necessary because the political environment at the time was fomenting a culture of white supremacy and xenophobia.

To the point that Athens is a de facto sanctuary city, one reporter asked Girtz how he can justify the fact that numerous undocumented immigrants lived in the same apartment as Jose Ibarra, the Venezuelan immigrant charged with Riley's murder.

"We are deeply sorry for this tragedy. Responsibility for this crime rests solely on the perpetrator," Girtz responded.

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