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A tragedy 70 miles away that captured minds and souls of a state — and, briefly, a nation — had Des Moines-area community members searching for a way to show support.
The effort manifested in the form of a "unity rally" Thursday in front of the State Capitol honoring Mollie Tibbetts, whose body was discovered near her hometown of Brooklyn, Iowa, this month, and other women who are victims of gender-based violence.
Religious officials and leaders in the Des Moines metro area's Latino community helped organize the vigil, which drew dozens to the Capitol's front steps. Hope, unity and sorrow were central themes of the gathering.
"I think this is important for us to have a way to pay respects, but also to show Iowa that we are part of this community," said the Rev. Luis Arredondo, a minister at Lutheran Church of Hope. "We love this state and this city and want the best for our children."
Arredondo was joined at the vigil by the Rev. Lincon Guerra of the Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church in West Des Moines.
Guerra said his parishioners felt a need to honor Tibbetts' life.
"The idea for this event started when — as a pastor, the ministry is to help those suffering — we found out about the very bad news about Mollie Tibbetts. I kept receiving the question, what can we do to show support?" he said.
People of several ethnicities rallied as religious leaders, and others, took turns speaking about the death of Tibbetts, a 20-year-old University of Iowa student. Cristhian Bahena Rivera, a 24-year-old believed to be in the U.S. illegally, has been charged with murder following the discovery of Tibbetts' body.
Beyond showing support and giving condolences to the friends and family of Tibbetts, Joe Enriquez Henry, of the League of Unity Latin American Citizens, said the unity rally also aimed to send a message denouncing violence against women and denouncing aggression toward Latinos.
"We have to educate everyone in this community that hate will not be tolerated," Enriquez Henry said.
Since Rivera was arrested, politicians — including President Donald Trump — have used the case as an example of poor immigration regulation.
Gov. Kim Reynolds has also accounted Tibbetts' death to "broken" immigration laws, inflaming social media and political debate.
"What the governor sent out last week, with the press release blaming immigrants for the death of Mollie Tibbetts, was the wrong thing to do," Enriquez Henry said. "That death was caused by an individual, not by a community. It was clearly the wrong message and I think that has led to where we are now."
Enriquez Henry worried Thursday about Latinos facing hostility following Rivera's arrest last week.
Graffiti discovered earlier during the day in a Des Moines neighborhood called for tougher enforcement of immigration laws.
"(The graffiti) said 'deport illegals,'" Enriquez Henry said. "Clearly this was targeted at our community. We are doing everything we can to reassure our community that everyone is going to be safe, we encourage our people to contact local law enforcement if anything should happen."
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Racist graffiti on Des Moines street the latest anti-immigrant rhetoric after Mollie Tibbetts' killing
But the message of unity permeated.
"There is so much hate being spread through the media right now saying that (Tibbetts') death is a political situation and it's taking away from what this all means," said University of Iowa student Hannah Klausner. "What it means is that, media is trying to separate communities, but what this means is that there is nothing wrong with the Latino community and we need to stick together."
Bahena Rivera's immigration status, Arredondo said, should not be the key issue of Tibbetts' death.
"I think it's important to say there was a crime that should never have happened," the minister said. "One person does not reflect the whole community and it is not an immigration issue, it is a violence-against-women issue. That is something we do not speak enough about as a society."
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