President Trump referenced 20-year-old Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts at a rally Tuesday night, hours after law enforcement officials charged a man living in the U.S. illegally with her murder.
“You heard about today with the illegal alien coming in very sadly from Mexico, and you saw what happened to that incredible, beautiful, young woman,” Trump said at an evening rally in West Virginia.
His comments came hours after authorities identified Christian Bahena Rivera, 24, as the primary suspect in the disappearance and murder of Tibbetts, whose body was discovered earlier Tuesday.
Tibbetts was last seen jogging around a neighborhood in Brooklyn, Iowa, on July 18 and was reported missing by her family the following day. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman Shawn Neduauer told reporters Tuesday that police used Tibbetts’ fitness band and digital footprint to track down Rivera.
According to the Poweshiek County Police Department, Rivera followed Tibbetts on July 18 and told authorities he blacked out after she pulled out her cell phone and threatened to call the police. He is believed to have been living in the U.S. illegally for four to seven years.
Rivera was charged with first-degree murder in the Poweshiek County District Court on Tuesday. His bail was set at $1 million.
Touting his administration’s efforts to crack down on violent illegal immigrants, Trump said Tibbetts’ death “should’ve never happened.”
“We’ve had a huge impact, but the immigration laws are so bad,” he told the crowd, adding that “a vote for any Democrat in November is a vote to eliminate immigration enforcement” and allow “violent criminals to be all over our communities.”
