{"id":2409765,"date":"2025-03-04T23:19:02","date_gmt":"2025-03-05T04:19:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/a-year-late-laken-riley-finally-gets-the-honor-she-deserved\/"},"modified":"2025-03-04T23:23:08","modified_gmt":"2025-03-05T04:23:08","slug":"a-year-late-laken-riley-finally-gets-the-honor-she-deserved","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/a-year-late-laken-riley-finally-gets-the-honor-she-deserved\/","title":{"rendered":"A Year Late, Laken Riley Finally Gets The Honor She Deserved"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fa-year-late-laken-riley-finally-gets-the-honor-she-deserved%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2409765&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/new-york-times-issues-multiple-corrections-for-article-falsely-claiming-900000-u-s-children-have-been-hospitalized-for-covid-19-during-pandemic\/\" title=\"New York Times Issues Multiple Corrections For Article Falsely Claiming 900,000 U.S. Children Have Been Hospitalized For COVID-19 During Pandemic\">article discusses<\/a> the posthumous recognition \u200bof Laken Riley, a 22-year-old <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/factbox-latest-on-worldwide-spread-of-the-coronavirus\/\" title=\"Factbox-Latest on worldwide spread of the coronavirus\">nursing student<\/a> who was tragically murdered in February 2024 by \u2064an <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">illegal alien gang member<\/a>. During a \u200crecent address to Congress, President Donald Trump honored her memory, stating that &#8220;America \u2062will never forget our lovely Laken Hope Riley.&#8221; This recognition comes a year after her murder, which <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/it-was-our-happy-place-families-cancel-disney-trips-abandon-disney-plus-over-companys-woke-ideology\/\" title=\"\u2018It Was Our Happy Place\u2019: Families Cancel Disney Trips, Abandon Disney Plus Over Company\u2019s Woke Ideology\">sparked national outrage<\/a>, especially due to\u2063 the handling of her killer, who had a history of criminal \u200bbehavior and \u2064was previously released by the\u2064 Biden management. Trump&#8217;s address condemned\u200b the crime and emphasized the need for stronger laws \u2063to detain illegal immigrants accused of violent crimes, referencing the Laken Riley Act\u2064 as a measure to prevent such tragedies\u200c in the future. the article contrasts \u200cTrump&#8217;s respectful tribute with President Biden&#8217;s \u200dearlier, dismissive acknowledgment\u2063 of\u200b Riley during a State of the Union\u2063 address,\u2062 highlighting the\u200b family&#8217;s relief at \u2063finally receiving proper recognition for their loss.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=LEygBVr1neI\">Associated Press \/ YouTube<\/a>       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/03\/04\/a-year-late-laken-riley-finally-gets-the-honor-she-deserved\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=A%20Year%20Late,%20Laken%20Riley%20Finally%20Gets%20The%20Honor%20She%20Deserved&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/03\/04\/a-year-late-laken-riley-finally-gets-the-honor-she-deserved\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=A%20Year%20Late,%20Laken%20Riley%20Finally%20Gets%20The%20Honor%20She%20Deserved&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/03\/04\/a-year-late-laken-riley-finally-gets-the-honor-she-deserved\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\" https:><\/path><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/03\/04\/a-year-late-laken-riley-finally-gets-the-honor-she-deserved\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=A%20Year%20Late,%20Laken%20Riley%20Finally%20Gets%20The%20Honor%20She%20Deserved&amp;body=A%20year%20late,%20Laken%20Riley's%20family%20finally%20got%20to%20hear%20a%20president%20honor%20their%20beloved%20daughter%20and%20sister%20in%20an%20address%20to%20the%20country.%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/03\/04\/a-year-late-laken-riley-finally-gets-the-honor-she-deserved\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &amp; Email\"><span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>Laken Riley&rsquo;s family had to wait a year for it, but the 22-year-old nursing student who was brutally murdered by an illegal alien in February 2024 finally received the presidential recognition she deserved in President Donald Trump&rsquo;s Tuesday night address to Congress.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;America will never, ever forget our beautiful Laken Hope Riley,&rdquo; Trump told her mother Allyson and sister Lauren, who were in the chamber as guests of the first family.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2 d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-275677385\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The president remembered Riley as &ldquo;the best in her class, admired by everybody,&rdquo; and spoke at length about the senseless killing in which the &ldquo;beautiful, young angel&rdquo; was &ldquo;stolen from us by a savage illegal alien gang member.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Riley was killed by Jose Ibarra, an alien who <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/11\/20\/not-giving-laken-rileys-killer-the-death-penalty-is-a-miscarriage-of-justice\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">entered<\/a> the United States illegally in 2022 but was let go by former President Joe Biden&rsquo;s Border Patrol. Despite being charged in New York six months prior to Riley&rsquo;s murder for &ldquo;reckless endangerment of a child,&rdquo; Ibarra was flown down to Georgia on a free flight thanks to the Biden administration.<\/p>\n<p>On Feb. 22, 2024, he followed Riley on her daytime jog at the University of Georgia, tried to rape her, and murdered her when she tried to fight back.<\/p>\n<p>It was a case that shocked the country, and Americans hoped their president would have the humility to apologize to Riley&rsquo;s family for the death of their daughter, even if he refused to admit his role in it. Two weeks after her killing, in his final State of the Union address, Biden failed to mention her until he was prompted by a cry from Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene to &ldquo;say her name!&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>In a reluctant, unscripted mumble, Biden managed to <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/03\/08\/say-her-name-biden-botches-laken-rileys-name-in-heat-of-open-border-disaster\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">botch<\/a> her name, saying &ldquo;Lincoln Riley&rdquo; was &ldquo;an innocent young woman who was killed by an illegal.&rdquo; He couldn&rsquo;t offer condolences to her parents without immediately making his own <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/illegal-immigrant-accused-of-suffocating-birthday-girl-tossing-body-in-shallow-grave\/\" title=\"Illegal Immigrant Accused of Suffocating Birthday Girl, Tossing Body in Shallow Grave\">family&#038;rsquo<\/a>;s tragedy the center of attention. And afterward, he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2024\/03\/11\/biden-trump-laken-riley-immigration\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">apologized<\/a> for the offense of calling her killer an &ldquo;illegal.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Now, a year after that humiliating insult, Laken Riley&rsquo;s family finally got to hear a president properly honor their beloved daughter and sister in an address to the country. They heard the crime &mdash; and the criminal &mdash; that caused her death condemned with moral clarity, instead of shrouded with excuses and apologies. Instead of suffering the sting of hearing a clueless president misstate Laken&rsquo;s name, they watched the country come together for a few minutes to honor her.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Last year, I told Laken&rsquo;s grieving parents that we would ensure their daughter would not have died in vain,&rdquo; Trump said in his address. He mentioned the Laken Riley Act, the first law he signed in his second term, which <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/what-is-laken-riley-act-trump-immigration-2667d626139ddf5a16d1533516eab18f\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">requires<\/a> authorities to detain illegal aliens accused of violent crimes.<\/p>\n<p>By giving her memory proper recognition, after Biden&rsquo;s shameful failure last year, Trump righted another wrong. It&rsquo;s too bad Democrats in Congress <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/BreccanFThies\/status\/1897123040473047119\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">couldn&rsquo;t<\/a> bring themselves to stand for it.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      Elle Purnell is the elections editor at The Federalist. Her work has been featured by Fox Business, RealClearPolitics, the Tampa Bay Times, and the Independent Women&#8217;s Forum. She received her B.A. in government from Patrick Henry College with a minor in journalism. Follow her on Twitter @_ellepurnell.<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Elle Purnell<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author-twitter label-sm d-flex align-items-center mt-10\">             <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter me-5\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>             <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Visit on Twitter<\/span>            <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/_ellepurnell\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-decoration-none\">@_ellepurnell<\/a>           <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/ellenreynolds\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/address-to-congress\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">address to congress<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/border-crisis\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">border crisis<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/crime\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Crime<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Donald Trump<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/illegal-alien\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">illegal alien<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/illegal-immigration\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Illegal Immigration<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/joe-biden\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Joe Biden<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/laken-riley\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Laken Riley<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/trump\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Trump<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/trump-administration\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Trump Administration<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Laken Riley&#8217;s family waited a year, but the 22-year-old nursing student, murdered by an illegal alien in February 2024, finally received presidential recognition<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1353,"featured_media":2409766,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Screenshot-2025-03-04-at-10.53.38%E2%80%AFPM.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[12793,4722,42983,11177,3847],"class_list":["post-2409765","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-achievement","tag-honor","tag-laken-riley","tag-recognition","tag-sports"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Screenshot-2025-03-04-at-10.53.38%E2%80%AFPM.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2409765","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1353"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2409765"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2409765\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2409769,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2409765\/revisions\/2409769"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2409766"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2409765"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2409765"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2409765"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}