Mr. Trump tweeted commenting on the outcome of the trial in Calfornia, as Jose Ines Garcia Zarate was acquitted of the murder of Kate Steinle by a jury who believed his explanation that his gun went off by accident.
A disgraceful verdict in the Kate Steinle case! No wonder the people of our Country are so angry with Illegal Immigration.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) 1 December 2017
Garcia, who had been deported from the US to his native Mexico five times, was convicted on November 30, only of felony possession of a weapon.
Ms. Steinle, 32, was shot in July 2015 while taking a stroll with her father near Pier 14, a busy tourist attraction in San Francisco.
Garcia was arrested shortly after when eyewitnesses pointed him out to police.
'Weakly Protected Obama Border'
He initially gave his name as Francisco Sanchez but he was later fingerprinted and police realized he was Garcia, who had been deported from the US five times but had always snuck back in.
The immigration authorities said on Thursday, November 30, they would make sure Garcia was deported.
On Friday morning, December 1, Mr. Trump added two more tweets in which he appeared to be questioning the jury's verdict and the judge's decision to keep evidence from the jury for fear of prejudicing the trial.
The Kate Steinle killer came back and back over the weakly protected Obama border, always committing crimes and being violent, and yet this info was not used in court. His exoneration is a complete travesty of justice. BUILD THE WALL!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) 1 December 2017
The jury was not told the killer of Kate was a 7 time felon. The Schumer/Pelosi Democrats are so weak on Crime that they will pay a big price in the 2018 and 2020 Elections.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 1, 2017
During the 2016 race for the White House, Trump regularly used the case to justify his proposed construction of a massive wall on the border with Mexico, and to rally support behind his hardline stance on immigration.
The divisive case reignited debate over cooperation between federal immigration authorities and police in state and local jurisdictions where the priority is crime prevention, not deportation.
At the time of her daughter's death, Liz Sullivan told the San Francisco Chronicle Ms. Steinle turned to her father after being shot sand said she wasn't feeling well before fainting.
"She just kept saying, 'Dad, help me, help me,'" Mrs. Sullivan said.
