by WorldTribune Staff, November 10, 2024 Contract With Our Readers
The George Soros-backed Georgia district attorney who refused to be involved in the prosecution of the alleged murder of Laken Riley was trounced in her bid for re-election.
Athens-Clarke District Attorney Deborah Gonzalez, a leftist Democrat, was defeated in Tuesday’s election by Republican Kalki Yalamanchili. The final margin was 60% to 40%.
Instead of leading the prosecution against Riley’s alleged killer, illegal alien Jose Ibarra, Gonzalez in February appointed veteran attorney Sheila Ross to serve as a special prosecutor.
“We will not allow this or any other case to be used for political gain,” Gonzalez said in a statement at the time.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp publicly expressed his concerns that Gonzalez would not be able to handle the high-profile case.
“Ms. Gonzalez has failed to achieve one guilty verdict in a jury trial involving any type of criminal case,” attorney Kevin Epps, who is suing Gonzalez on behalf of an Athens bar owner, told WSB-TV. “We currently have a district attorney that has a complete inability to prosecute this case appropriately,.”
Gonzalez was elected in 2020 with the backing of Soros and as leftists pushed for criminal justice reform in response to Black Lives Matter and other nationwide protests.
Gonzalez promised diversion programs, rehabilitation, and shorter sentences for nonviolent offenders.
Riley, 22, a nursing student, was found dead on Feb. 22 after she went for a run.
Ibarra, 26, had been arrested in Queens six months before Riley’s death on child endangerment charges. But New York City’s migrant sanctuary policies prevented the NYPD from turning the Venezuelan over to the feds.
Gonzalez was one of several Soros-backed officials to be ousted in Tuesday’s election.
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The most high-profile loss was Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon, who was thumped by 24% by his tough on crime opponent, Nathan Hochman, a former federal prosecutor, with crime being a top issue of the election cycle.
In San Francisco, hard-on-crime Brooke Jenkins comfortably beat out prosecutor Ryan Khojasteh, who was the handpicked candidate of former district attorney Chesa Boudin, who was recalled in 2022.
In another loss for Soros-backed prosecutors in the Golden State, District Attorney Pamela Price was recalled in Alameda County, home to Oakland and Berkeley, following backlash for her alleged soft-on-crime approach.
Out of the roughly 75 Soros-linked prosecutors nationwide his organization has since identified in 2022, over 30 have left office, and 20 have been replaced by traditional district attorneys.
There were wins for Soros-linked candidates, with Savannah’s progressive prosecutor Shalena Cook Jones holding on to her seat by 7%.
In Florida, Soros-backed Monique Worrell reclaimed her position as the Orange-Osceola state attorney, beating out Andrew Bain by just over 5%. She was ousted last year by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for “dereliction of duty” on crime.