Angered after death of Laken Riley, an Athens woman plans to hold downtown Athens rally

When Laurie Camp of Athens decided to hold a rally in downtown Athens in the wake of Laken Riley’s slaying on the University of Georgia campus she never dreamed it would draw so much attention.

“It started it because I was angry,” Camp said. “I thought maybe 30 people may show, but the next thing you know it’s snowballed into a new movement."

The rally she calls “Make Athens Safe Again” takes place at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday in front of Athens-Clarke County City Hall on College Avenue. The rally was timed to precede a meeting of the Athens-Clarke County Commission.

The rally emerged from the slaying of Riley, a nursing student, who was attacked and killed by a man on the UGA campus on Feb. 22. National attention was placed on the case after it was discovered the suspect, Jose Antonio Ibarra, 26, is a Venezuelan immigrant who entered the U.S. Illegally.

“The purpose of the rally is to demand that our mayor and commissioners do whatever is necessary to make our community safe,” said Camp, who has lived in Athens since 1977. “I grew up here, went to college here and taught in Clarke County schools for 28 years. My children went to school here."

Since she announced the rally on Feb. 27 on social media, she has been receiving a growing response, with at least 70 people who have confirmed their attendance and 500 more noting an interest on Camp's Facebook group.

But Camp has also been a guest or been interviewed about the rally on three different national television outlets, those being Fox News, America’s Newsroom and News Nation. Two of the networks said they will have cameras at the rally, she said.

“The main issue we have is the commission and mayor have been putting their political agenda above the safety of the citizens,” she said.

Athens-Clarke police Lt. Jody Thompson said Friday that there will be a significant police presence in downtown during the rally.

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Athens woman creates rally to precede ACC Commission meeting