Laken Riley's father criticizes politicization of his daughter's death: 'She was much better than that'

The father of Laken Riley, the 22-year-old Georgia nursing student killed last month, criticized the politicization of his daughter's death in an interview that aired Monday.

"I feel like she’s being used somewhat politically ... It makes me angry," Jason Riley told NBC News. "She was much better than that. She should be raised up for the person that she is."

Laken Riley was jogging on the University of Georgia campus early in the morning Feb. 22 when she was attacked and killed by blunt force trauma, University of Georgia Police Chief Jeff Clark confirmed at the time.

Police arrested Jose Antonio Ibarra, 26, of Athens, Georgia, in connection with her death. Ibarra entered the U.S. illegally in 2022, and he is charged with several offenses including kidnapping and felony murder.

The Venezuelan citizen's immigration status led to Laken Riley's death becoming a flashpoint in the debate around border security in America. For example, President Joe Biden referred to Laken Riley in his State of the Union address, prompted by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., yelling at the president to "say her name."

Days after that speech, former President Donald Trump met with the slain nursing student's mother and stepfather. At a Georgia campaign rally, Trump also slammed Biden's immigration policies and blamed them for her death.

While some of Laken Riley's friends and family were at that campaign stop, the politics surrounding the nursing student's death is something her father has taken issue with as he grieves.

"I'd rather her not be such a political, how you say — it started a storm in our country," Jason Riley told NBC News, "and it's incited a lot of people."

Asked whether he thought different immigration policy would have changed anything, Jason Riley told NBC News he had "no idea."

"But he's here illegally. He might not have been here had we had secure borders," he said.

Jason Riley also told NBC News he supports Trump and the opportunity for discussions about the southern border, despite the partisanship surrounding his daughter's death.

"Laken has been a rallying cry for secure borders and for the illegal immigration policies of this current administration, but there's many women we don't get to hear about," he said.

In his interview since Laken Riley's death, Jason Riley emphasized who his daughter was as a person, saying she was "like an angel."

"We were looking forward to seeing her graduate next year. She was so full of life," he said. "I just hate that, you know, she was taken so early."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Laken Riley's father blasts politicization Georgia student's death