Mollie Tibbetts’s Father Decries Vitriol Against Hispanics

Washington Post: “Seizing on the fact that the 24-year-old suspect police arrested, Cristhian Bahena Rivera, is a Mexican national who authorities said was in the country illegally, many Republicans, from President Trump on down, used the death to advocate for harsher immigration laws.”

“But Tibbetts family members have struck a different note, even in the emotionally tense days following the confirmation of her death last week, although they have not directly rebuked the president. During the eulogy her father, Rob Tibbetts, gave during her funeral Sunday, he highlighted his positive feelings for the local Hispanic community.”

Said Tibbetts: “The Hispanic community are Iowans. They have the same values as Iowans.”

He even noted that during the nearly six weeks he spent in Iowa while authorities searched for his daughter, he ate at a number of Mexican restaurants: “As far as I’m concerned, they’re Iowans with better food.”