Emails Reveal Athens Mayor Saw Laken Riley's Murder as PR Problem

Through a Georgia Open Records Act request, we obtained a February 24, 2024 email exchange between Clarke County Sheriff John Q. Williams and Girtz. This exchange, sent two days after Laken Riley was murdered, is shocking. Sheriff Williams contacted Mayor Girtz asking whether the county he is responsible for protecting is a “sanctuary” jurisdiction. But it gets worse. Sheriff Williams then threatens that if the Athens-Clarke County Government would not address the county’s refusal to cooperate with ICE, he “will do everything in [his] power to protect the integrity and...