Mexican National Drops Demand He Not Be Called ‘Illegal Alien’ in Mollie Tibbetts Murder Trial

Cristhian Bahena Rivera speaks with his attorney during his initial court appearance, Wedn
Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette via AP

The Mexican national accused of murdering 20-year-old college student Mollie Tibbetts has dropped his demand that he not be called an “illegal alien” by the media and government during the course of the murder trial.

Last week, Breitbart News reported how 24-year-old illegal alien Cristhian Bahena-Rivera of Mexico demanded that he not be referred to as an “illegal alien” in an order from his then-attorney, Allan Richards.

Bahena-Rivera has been charged with first-degree murder in her death after police say he admitted to confronting and chasing down Tibbetts. The illegal alien lived in a region of Iowa that was surrounded by sanctuary cities, as Breitbart News noted, and worked on a dairy farm using a stolen ID and Social Security card after allegedly crossing the U.S.-Mexico border as a child.

Now, Bahena-Rivera has dropped Richards as his attorney, hiring married couple Chad Frese and Jennifer Frese to represent him in the murder trial, the Des Moines Register reports.

Bahena-Rivera’s switch of attorneys means that his demands and an attempt at a gag order on the media and government to stop calling him an “illegal alien” have all been dropped.

In the case of Tibbetts, the illegal alien allegedly stabbed the young woman to death after chasing her down, according to police. Investigators say Bahena-Rivera left Tibbetts’ body in a nearby cornfield, where he covered her with cornstalks.

A similar case was revealed in an exclusive report by Ben Ashford for the Daily Mail where a 17-year-old girl says she was similarly harassed by the illegal alien months before Tibbetts went missing on July 18. The girl said she was left “fearing for her life” after Bahena-Rivera attempted to chase her down.

Bahena-Rivera has a U.S.-born child with a young woman who went to high school with Tibbetts. The children of illegal aliens are often referred to as “anchor babies,” as they are eventually allowed to bring in an unlimited number of foreign relatives to the country and act as an anchor for their illegal parents.

Federal immigration officials have previously confirmed to Breitbart News that Bahena-Rivera is in the country illegally. Investigators say he has been living in the U.S. from between four and seven years. The illegal alien is being held on a $5 million bond.

John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder.  

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