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Feds mum on how Laken Riley's killer got one-way plane ticket from migrant shelter ground zero

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Feds mum on how Laken Riley's killer got one-way plane ticket from migrant shelter ground zero

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Federal officials declined to provide more information to Fox News Digital about a “humanitarian flight” that Laken Riley’s convicted killer, Jose Ibarra, was granted from New York City to Atlanta in September 2023.

In a Georgia courtroom on Monday, during Ibarra’s trial, prosecutors displayed a photo of a Delta Air Lines ticket from New York to Atlanta, dated Sept. 28, 2023, for Ibarra, the Venezuelan illegal immigrant accused of attacking and killing Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student, on the University of Georgia campus in Athens in February.

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FBI Special Agent Jamie Hipkiss said a photo of the boarding pass was pulled from a WhatsApp account associated with Ibarra.

Ibarra’s former roommate, Rosbeli Flores-Bello, testified on Monday that she and Ibarra — both Venezuelan nationals who connected in Queens, New York, in 2023 after meeting through a mother-in-law — went to the Roosevelt Hotel in Manhattan in September of that year to request a “humanitarian flight” to Atlanta. Ibarra’s brother, Diego, promised they would find work in Athens, Georgia. 

LAKEN RILEY MURDER: JUDGE SENTENCES COLLEGE STUDENT KILLER AFTER FAMILY ADDRESSES ‘MONSTER’ IN COURT

Jose Ibarra’s Delta Air Lines ticket dated Sept. 28, 2023 from New York City to Atlanta. (COURT TV Pool cam/ Athens-Clarke County court)

The Roosevelt, which is located not far from New York’s iconic Grand Central Station, was transformed into an immigration processing hub or “reticketing center” in May 2023. The New York City official government website defines “reticketing” as “a service provided to individuals who are new arrivals to the United States and are seeking asylum.”

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President-elect Trump’s incoming border czar Tom Homan has vowed to put an end to this practice. Homan served in Trump’s first administration as acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ office told Fox News Digital that “[w]hat happened to Laken Riley is a gut-wrenching tragedy, and we are hopeful her suspected killer is held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”

“Cities should never have had to carry the cost and burden of this national humanitarian crisis.”

— Mayor Eric Adams’ office

“Mayor Adams has been abundantly clear that we need to fix our broken immigration system. Cities should never have had to carry the cost and burden of this national humanitarian crisis,” press secretary Kayla Mamelak Altus said in a statement. 

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Asylum seekers line up in front of the historic Roosevelt Hotel, converted into a city-run shelter for newly arrived migrant families in New York City. (Selcuk Acar/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

“More than 223,000 migrants have come through New York City’s intake system since the spring of 2022, and our reticketing system is one tool in our very limited toolbox as a city that helps migrants take the next step out of our shelter system,” Altus continued. “We continue to call on Democrats and Republicans to finally come together to pass meaningful immigration reform for the first time in four decades.”

Reticketing centers, the New York City website says, help “arrange further travel outside of NYC from” the Roosevelt Hotel, among other locations.

Migrants reach for food being handed out while being recorded by a woman outside the Roosevelt Hotel, where dozens of recently arrived migrants have been camping out as they try to secure temporary housing on Aug. 2, 2023 in New York City. (Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images)

“If you have just arrived in NYC and need reticketing services, you should first visit the Arrival Center at the Roosevelt Hotel, located at 45 East 45th Street in Manhattan,” the website states. “At the Arrival Center, you will undergo an intake process in your preferred language, during which you can express your desire to be reticketed. Eligibility will be confirmed by staff.”

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The FBI told Fox News Digital that the agency “has nothing further to provide beyond the testimony given in court.” 

A spokesperson for Immigration and Customs Enforcement said “the FBI is involved in this,” referring to the plane ticket, and referred Fox News Digital to the Bureau. “We don’t have any information,” the spokesperson said.

The White House did not respond to questions about Ibarra’s conviction generally or his humanitarian flight. Delta Air Lines did not provide any further information about the flight. 

LAKEN RILEY’S ALLEGED KILLER JOSE IBARRA FLEW FROM ‘GROUND ZERO’ OF MIGRANT CRISIS TO GEORGIA

Jose Ibarra pays attention to a witness during his trial at the Athens-Clarke County Superior Court on Monday, Nov. 18, 2024 in Athens, Georgia. (Miguel Martinez/Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

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Jose Ibarra is charged with 10 counts in connection with Riley’s February murder.

The murder suspect entered the United States through El Paso, Texas, in 2022 and was freed on border parole. He initially lived in New York City, where he was arrested for endangering a child prior to his move to Athens.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CHARGED IN LAKEN RILEY MURDER ‘FAST-TRACKING’ TO LIFE IN PRISON: ATTORNEY

From left to right, Connolly Huth, roommate of Laken Riley, Lauren Phillips, sister of Laken Riley, and Sofia Magana, roommate of Laken Riley, react as Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard announces the verdict during the trial of Jose Ibarra at Athens-Clarke County Superior Court, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024 in Athens, Georgia. (Hyosub Shin/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP, Pool)

Ibarra, 26; and his brothers, Diego Ibarra, 29; and Argenis Ibarra, 24, lived together in an apartment complex in Athens, Georgia, less than half a mile from the scene where Riley was found dead. All three men were questioned and taken into custody after Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student, was murdered while she was jogging around the University of Georgia campus on Feb. 22.

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Diego Ibarra — who briefly worked on UGA’s campus in a dining hall — is charged with green card fraud after displaying a fake ID with two different birth dates to police, and Argenis is being held on an immigration detainer.

Court documents released Wednesday revealed that Diego Ibarra has ties to the violent Venezuela-based organized crime gang Tren de Aragua.

Federal authorities say that the gang, also known as TdA, has become known for its violent turf wars as it has expanded into other countries in South and Central America. The gang has established itself in multiple states, according to the Justice Department.

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Southeast

GOP Rep Nancy Mace introduces ‘Death Penalty for Child Rapists Act’

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GOP Rep Nancy Mace introduces ‘Death Penalty for Child Rapists Act’

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Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., has introduced a bill to authorize the death penalty as a potential punishment for the sexual abuse of children.

“We have zero mercy for child rapists. Those who prey on our most vulnerable deserve the harshest consequence we can deliver,” Mace said in a statement.

The proposal is aptly called the “Death Penalty for Child Rapists Act.”

Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., announces she will run for South Carolina governor during a press conference at the Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina, on Aug. 4, 2025. (Tracy Glantz/The State/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

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“No predator should be allowed to walk away from the most unthinkable crimes against children,” Mace noted. 

“This bill is simple. Rape a child and you don’t get a second chance, you get the death penalty. We will never apologize for protecting America’s children,” Mace added.

The bill would put capital punishment on the table as an option to punish those who sexually abuse children.

REP NANCY MACE SLAPS DOWN EARLY RETIREMENT RUMOR: ‘BIG FAT NO FROM ME’

Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., attends the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington, D.C.  (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

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“INTRODUCING: The Death Penalty for Child Rapists Act to amend Title 18 to authorize the death penalty for aggravated sexual abuse, sexual abuse of a minor and abusive sexual contact offenses against children. It will also amend the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) to authorize the death penalty for the rape of a child,” she said in a post on X.

“We’ve spent months fighting to expose Jeffrey Epstein’s network of powerful predators. We’ve demanded accountability and pushed for transparency. Now we’re making sure anyone who rapes a child faces the ultimate consequence,” she noted.

Mace has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since early 2021. 

NANCY MACE CLAIMS NANCY PELOSI ‘WAS A MORE EFFECTIVE HOUSE SPEAKER THAN ANY REPUBLICAN THIS CENTURY’

She is one of the candidates currently running in the South Carolina Republican gubernatorial primary.

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Virginia Democrats talk affordability — and vote to nearly triple their own pay

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Virginia Democrats talk affordability — and vote to nearly triple their own pay

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The Virginia State Senate and its Democratic majority may have voted to nearly triple their pay if a provision inserted into their final budget survives the House reconciliation process and reaches Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s desk.

The development comes as Spanberger has centered her campaign on “affordability,” with Richmond Democrats echoing that they are working to improve their constituents’ personal finances.

Virginia’s legislature itself was founded as a part-time, gentleman’s chamber, where lawmakers would return to their day jobs when Richmond wasn’t holding session.

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger signs executive orders. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

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Proponents of raising the current 1988-established salary of $18,000 for senators and $17,640 for delegates say the structure restricts who can afford to serve as a lawmaker today. Lawmakers also qualify for a $237 per diem, mileage reimbursements, and coverage of office, meeting and other expenses.

Senators’ new salary would be $50,000.

Republicans were quick to criticize the final budget, with the Virginia Senate Minority Caucus saying in a statement that “teachers got a 3% raise, but Democrats give themselves 300%.” The actual increase would be closer to 178%, though one could say the new salary would be 300% of the original. 

“The affordability hoax just gets worse and worse,” the caucus said, adding that the chamber’s majority killed a repeal of the car tax — something GOP gubernatorial nominee Winsome Sears ran on — while increasing the state budget by $1 billion overall.

Sen. Mark Obenshain, R-Rockingham, told WVTF it is the “wrong time” to address lawmaker pay.

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 “It’s supposed to be affordability for working families across Virginia, not members of the General Assembly,” he said.

Virginia’s legislature — the oldest continuous legislative body in the New World — has been making laws since its inception as the House of Burgesses in Colonial Williamsburg, where Spanberger gave the Democratic Party’s State of the Union response.

In her speech, she claimed President Donald Trump is the one “enriching himself, his family and his friends” and said Republicans are the ones “making your life more expensive.”

“I traveled to every corner of Virginia, and I heard the same pressing concern everywhere: costs are too high. In housing, healthcare, energy, and childcare,” she said.

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“Americans deserve to know that their leaders are focused on addressing the problems that keep them up at night.”

“Democrats across the country are laser-focused on affordability — in our nation’s capital and in state capitals and communities across America,” Spanberger said Tuesday.

The pay raise could be moot if the Democrat-controlled House of Delegates does not amend its own budget proposal to include the provision.

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The House’s budget includes $137 million for expanded childcare access, a minimum wage increase to $13.75 in 2027 and $15 in 2029, and a $20 million appropriation for state employees’ and home health care workers’ collective bargaining, according to Washington’s ABC affiliate.

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Fox News Digital reached out to the governor, as well as the House and Senate minority leaders, for further comment.

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Virginia murder suspect in bus stop stabbing had lengthy criminal history, multiple dropped charges

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Virginia murder suspect in bus stop stabbing had lengthy criminal history, multiple dropped charges

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A Virginia murder suspect accused of fatally stabbing a woman at a bus stop earlier this week has a lengthy criminal history filled with multiple arrests, but was let back onto the streets nearly every time. 

Abdul Jalloh, 32, is charged with the Monday night killing of Stephanie Minter, 41, of Fredericksburg, at a bus stop shelter, the Fairfax County Police Department said. 

Minter was found by officers with stab wounds to her upper body and pronounced dead at the scene, police said. 

Abdul Jalloh, 32, is accused of killing Stephanie Minter, 41, at a Virginia bus stop.  (Fairfax County Police Department; provided)

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Jalloh, 32, who was seen on surveillance cameras exiting the bus with Minter at Richmond Highway and Arlington Drive, was arrested the next day. 

He was arrested at a liquor store after an employee called 911. At the time, officers arrested him for allegedly shoplifting. Investigators linked him to the murder a day later. 

Authorities were still trying to determine a motive for the killing and what led to the deadly stabbing. 

A search of online court records revealed Jalloh has more than a dozen arrests in northern Virginia, including on charges of petty larceny and malicious wounding. 

In most of the cases, prosecutors dropped the charges, FOX D.C. reported. 

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Abdul Jalloh seen on a bus in Virginia.  (Fairfax County Police Department)

Laura Birnbaum, the chief of staff for Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano, said Jalloh was known to the district attorney’s office and was “acutely aware of the risk he posed to the community.”

“That is why we convicted the defendant of a 2023 malicious wounding charge, and have since made every effort to hold him accountable each subsequent time that he has come in contact with the criminal justice system, including asking him to be held in custody whenever possible,” Birnbaum said. 

“Unfortunately, the defendant in this case also had a history of selecting victims with no fixed address – some of the most vulnerable members of our community,” she added. “In multiple cases, we were unable to move forward with prosecution because victims could not be located or contacted.”

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Stephanie Minter, 41, was killed on Monday after getting off of a bus in Virginia.  (Provided)

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An obituary for Minter described her as a “happy, jolly” person. 

“A beam of light in dark places,” the obituary states. 

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