MSNBC Quietly Pulls 'Absolutely Sickening' Headline About Laken Riley's Killer After Huge Backlash

Mainstream media outlets have so frequently discredited themselves by revealing their own biases that it’s no longer surprising.

At times, these biases emerge unconsciously, and this instance seems to be one of those cases.

On Friday, under significant backlash for what many deemed an unthinkably callous move, MSNBC quietly replaced the headline of its story about the conviction of Jose Antonio Ibarra—the Venezuelan illegal immigrant who killed Georgia nursing student Laken Riley in February—with a new one. One social media user called the original headline “absolutely sickening.”

The updated headline read: “The Guilt of Laken Riley’s Killer Was Never In Doubt.” This revision was far less controversial and unlikely to provoke objections.

However, the original headline read: “Laken Riley’s Killer Never Stood a Chance,” a statement so tone-deaf it sparked widespread outrage on the social media platform X.

Supporters of President-elect Donald Trump quickly condemned MSNBC for the headline. Trump, who has pledged to end the open-border policies enabled by President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, indirectly fueled the backlash.

“You literally can’t make up this level of depravity. These people are sick,” tweeted Donald Trump Jr., referencing MSNBC.

Conservative commentator Charlie Kirk echoed this outrage, tweeting, “Dear MSNBC, Laken Riley never stood a chance, you despicable humans.”

Other users on X labeled the headline “absolutely disgusting,” “evil,” and accused MSNBC of “trying to stealth-edit their inhumanity.”

Ironically, the story itself would likely seem relatively inoffensive to most readers.

MSNBC legal analyst Danny Cevallos explained that the defense team opted for a bench trial over a jury trial because they likely viewed it as a “hopeless case.” The strategy was to seek the most lenient sentence possible from a judge who might recognize their decision to avoid a prolonged, costly jury trial and to spare Riley’s family additional pain.

In essence, the article presented standard legal commentary from the perspective of a defense attorney.

Still, the initial headline remained deeply troubling.

Whether intentional or not, the wording revealed MSNBC’s underlying stance on illegal immigration.

Put simply, the person behind the headline could not hide the reality: outlets like MSNBC, often serving as propaganda arms of the Democratic Party, seem to exhibit greater empathy and concern for illegal immigrants—frequently referred to as “undocumented” by such outlets—than for American citizens, including those harmed by violent criminals like Ibarra.