8:23 p.m. ET, August 21, 2018
Trump: Mollie Tibbetts' death "should have never happened"
From CNN's Noah Gray
President Trump made remarks about
Mollie Tibbetts' death and the arrest of an undocumented immigrant while speaking at the rally tonight.
"You heard about today with the illegal alien coming in very sadly from Mexico. And you saw what happened to that incredible beautiful young woman. Should have never happened. Illegally in our country. We've had a huge impact but the laws are so bad, the immigration laws are such a a disgrace. We're getting it changed but we have to get more Republicans," Trump said.
Some background: Iowa authorities have
charged Cristhian Bahena Rivera, 24, with murder in the presumed
death of Tibbetts, a 20-year-old college student who has been missing for more than five weeks.
Rivera has been in the area for four to seven years, said Rick Rahn, special agent in charge at the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Rivera is from Mexico.
In a lengthy interview with police, Rivera said he saw Tibbetts jogging on July 18 and followed her, Rahn said. Rivera said he approached and ran alongside or behind her. He said that Tibbetts grabbed her phone and told him to leave her alone, or she would call the police. Rivera said he chased down Tibbetts after she took off running, Rahn said.
Rivera told authorities he blacked out at some point and he came to near an intersection where they believe he placed the body, officials said.