After Athens-Clarke County Mayor Kelly Girtz denied that the community where nursing student Laken Riley was allegedly murdered by an illegal immigrant was a sanctuary city, residents pointed to a video from 2020 that appears to show then-candidate John Williams, now the Athens-Clark County Sheriff, stating that he would not cooperate with ICE.

In the video, Williams told an Athens Politics Nerd reporter that he did not intend to cooperate with detainers, as he saw it as the sheriff’s responsibility to protect the community. He argued that a culture of fear would prevent the community from helping law enforcement in times of need.

While campaigning, Williams promised that he would not contribute to a “culture of fear” and emphasized the importance of building relationships with the community. He stated that the police would not do any round-ups or contribute to a culture of fear, as they wanted people to both respect and trust law enforcement.

The sheriff’s past comments were brought up after angry Georgia residents interrupted Girtz during a press briefing on the city’s plan to increase public safety. Protesters accused the mayor of lying and claimed he had “blood on his hands” for the murder.

Girtz denied that Athens was a sanctuary city and said that Georgia law did not allow for sanctuary cities. He reiterated that there had been no legislation from the government creating sanctuary city status.

Article generated from corporate media reports.