A CNN panel erupted after PoliticsGirl podcast host Leigh McGowan said it was “exhausting” as conservative reporter Brianna Lyman discussed Americans allegedly killed by illegal immigrants. The exchange began when Lyman raised the recent alleged strangling death of 33-year-old Brianna Connolly in Massachusetts. McGowan interrupted Lyman, who immediately responded to her complaint.
The exchange happened Tuesday on “NewsNight with Abby Phillip” during a panel featuring Lyman, McGowan, former New York City Council Republican leader Joe Borelli, Atlantic contributor Jemele Hill, and Tangle editor-at-large Kmele Foster. The discussion focused on Pierre Damas Bel, a 20-year-old Haitian immigrant in Ohio whose family believes he died by suicide after being required to wear an ICE ankle monitor. Authorities said Bel exited his vehicle and walked into traffic on Interstate 70, where he was struck by a tractor-trailer.
The panel discussed claims that Bel had been humiliated and bullied over the ankle monitor after losing his Temporary Protected Status. Lyman pushed back on attempts to blame the Trump administration for his death, arguing that the cause had still not been established and that temporary immigration status was never intended to guarantee permanent residency. She instead steered the conversation toward an American woman recently killed in Massachusetts.
Brianna Connolly was found dead inside her Framingham residence on August 27th after 43-year-old Flavio Alcantara Dias called 911 and allegedly said he had strangled her. Prosecutors alleged that Dias attacked Connolly following an argument and initially charged him with assault and battery causing serious bodily injury and possession of ammunition without a firearm identification card. He was ordered held without bail, while ICE lodged a detainer against him after federal officials identified him as a Brazilian national living in the country illegally.
“Well, temporary does mean temporary, so eventually this individual may have been ordered to be removed,” Lyman said in the video. “And I think it’s kind of insulting that we’re talking about this immigrant instead of Brianna Connolly from Massachusetts, who was strangled last week by an illegal alien.” Before Lyman could finish asking why the focus was so rarely placed on American victims, McGowan jumped in.
“Oh my God! It’s so exhausting. Over and over again,” McGowan complained as Lyman discussed Connolly’s death. Lyman fired back without hesitation, saying, “It’s exhausting for you because your daughter wasn’t the one strangled.” She continued, “It’s not exhausting for the parents of Americans who watch their children get murdered by illegal aliens.”
Watch the heated exchange here:
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The panel descended into cross-talk as other guests attempted to redirect the conversation toward Bel. Lyman questioned the claim that his ankle monitor caused his death, pointing out that investigators had not announced a definitive motive. She also noted that Bel had walked into traffic, potentially placing unsuspecting motorists in danger.
“Do you know the accident he could have caused for Americans driving?” Lyman asked. Hill responded incredulously, while Phillip emphasized that Bel’s family believed the humiliation surrounding the ankle monitor contributed to his death. Lyman answered that a family’s belief does not establish what happened, saying, “There was no proof that this suicide was because of his ankle monitor.”
Phillip later said Connolly’s alleged killing did not justify “other things happening to people who have done nothing wrong” and asked the panel to “have a little humanity in the situation writ large.” Lyman continued pressing the distinction between an unconfirmed explanation for Bel’s death and the enforcement of federal immigration law. “Americans have the right to enforce their border laws,” she said, “and if that means an ankle monitor, that means an ankle monitor.”
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video.