San Francisco jurors on Thursday acquitted an undocumented homeless immigrant of killing Kate Steinle in a case that galvanized the anti-immigrant movement.

Jose Ines Garcia Zarate was found not guilty of charges including, murder, manslaughter and assault with a firearm.

He was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Steinle, 32, was with her father on Pier 14 in San Francisco when she was struck down by a bullet that ricocheted off the concrete ground on July 1. 2015.

Before Steinle’s killing, Garcia Zarate had been held on an old marijuana charge – and then set free by San Francisco Sheriff’s Department despite a deportation order against him. San Francisco “sanctuary city” laws limit its cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

His defense has claimed that he had found the gun – which had been stolen days earlier from the car of a US Bureau of Land Management ranger – that killed Steinle and it accidentally went off in his hand.

“From Day 1 this case was used as a means to foment hate, to foment division and to foment a program of mass deportation. It was used to catapult a presidency along that philosophy of hate of others,” defense lawyer Francisco Ugarte said after the verdict.

“I believe today is a day of vindication for the rest of immigrants.”

Prosecutors claim the defendant brought the gun to Pier 14 with the intent of creating mayhem and “playing his own secret version of Russian roulette.”

Steinle’s slaying became a political lightning rod, with then-candidate Donald Trump citing the tragedy as reason to build a border wall and scale back immigration.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Thursday that San Francisco is at fault for the death.

“When jurisdictions choose to return criminal aliens to the streets rather than federal immigration authorities they put the public’s safety at risk,” according to a statement from Sessions, following the verdict.

“San Francisco’s decision to protect criminal aliens led to the preventable and heartbreaking death of Kate Steinle.”

Jurors left San Francisco Superior Court and declined comment.

“The verdict that came in today was not the one we were hoping for,” said DA’s spokesman Alex Bastian.

“The jury came back with the verdict they did, and we will respect that decision. … This is really about the Steinle family. They showed incredible resolve during this whole process.”

Garcia Zarate, who will remain in custody, faces 16 months to three years behind bars for the firearms conviction. It is not clear if he will be deported.

Steinle grew up in the San Francisco suburb of Pleasanton and worked at medical device company, not far from where she was killed.

Earlier this year, the House passed “Kate’s Law,” which would increase penalties for undocumented immigrants who return to the United States even after being deported – like Garcia Zarate.