Widower Sam Vigil endorses Trump, lauds Operation Legend
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An Albuquerque man whose wife was tragically murdered by an illegal immigrant with a lengthy rap sheet praised President Trump for finding her accused killer through Operation Legend in a moving speech at the 2020 Republican National Convention.
Sam Vigil took the stage in Washington, D.C. to recount the nightmarish morning he found his wife, 55-year-old Jackie Vigil, murdered in the driveway of their home last November after a car-jacking gone wrong.
“When I go to bed at night, that sound and that image haunt me. That’s my life sentence. It’s a sentence being served by too many families left behind by senseless killings,” Vigil said.
After eight months of no leads, Jackie’s alleged killer was found within days of Trump launching Operation Legend in July, a nine-city federal anti-violent crime initiative that has so far led to 1,485 arrests.
“For over eight months, there were no arrests and no leads in connection with Jackie’s murder. The police were overwhelmed. They needed help,” he said.
“Help arrived when President Trump launched Operation Legend in July of this year. Almost immediately, the FBI took over Jackie’s case,” he continued, revealing that the man they arrested for her murder had been “deported in September and had come back in October to terrorize our community.”
Accused Luis Talamantes has not been formally charged with Vigil’s murder, but court documents detail his alleged involvement and he has a long history of drug and firearms charges.
“I am extremely grateful to President Trump and the FBI for their efforts to deliver justice for Jackie and all the other innocent victims of violent crime,” Vigil said.
“I am honored to support the President because he is supporting us. I know he will never stop fighting for justice, for law and order, and for peace and security in our communities.”
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