All three men charged have been found guilty for the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, a Black jogger they believed to be a burglar running on a suburban Georgia street, who they pursued and cornered with their pickups before a physical confrontation in which one of the men fatally shot him.
Arbery, 25, was killed on Feb. 23, 2020, after beingchased down the streeton which he was jogging in Brunswick. Prosecutors alleged the white suspects — Greg McMichael, 67; his son Travis McMichael, 35; and neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan, 52 — chased and confronted Arbery with two firearms after they saw him running, and that Travis fatally shot Arbery during a struggle over Travis' shotgun.
Ahmaud Arbery.
Each faced nine criminal charges, according tothe indictment. Travis McMichael, who pulled the trigger and shot Arbery three times, was convicted on all of them: one count of malice murder, which alleges intent to kill; four counts of felony murder, which alleges an action that causes a death; two counts of aggravated assault; one count of false imprisonment; and one count of criminal attempt to commit a felony.
His father, Greg McMichael, was cleared of only the malice murder charge, and found guilty of the rest. Bryan was cleared of malice murder and one felony murder charge, as well as one of the aggravated assault charges. But the 12 jurors found him liable for all the other charges.
All three now face life in prison when sentenced.
Travis McMichael, at left, and his father Greg McMichael in their booking photos.Glynn County Detention Center/AP/Shutterstock
“To tell you the truth, I never saw this day back in 2020,” Arbery’s mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, said after the verdicts, reportsThe New York Times. “I never thought this day would come, but God is good. Thank you – thank you for those who marched, those who prayed.”
Lead prosecutor Linda Dunikoski, in herclosing argumentMonday, said, “All three of these defendants made assumptions about what was going on that day. And they made their decision to attack Ahmaud Arbery in their driveways, because he was a Black man running down the street,” according to theTimes.
But Jason Sheffield, a defense attorney for Travis, said his client believed at the time of the shooting that Arbery had committed burglary and Travis had “the right to perform a citizen’s arrest,” according toCNN.
“You do have the right to have a firearm when you make an arrest,” Sheffield said. “You do have the right to stop a person and hold them and detain them. There is risk with that. There are tragic consequences that can come from that.”
William “Roddie” Bryan in court Nov. 19, 2021, in Brunswick, Ga.Stephen B. Morton-Pool/Getty Images
The already closely watched trial garnered even more attention afterKyle Rittenhousewascleared Friday of all charges for fatally shooting two men, and injuring a third, during civil unrest that grew out of Black Lives Matter protests in Kenosha, Wis., last year. Rittenhouse, 18, who was white, claimed self defense in the deaths of his victims, who also were white.
But both trials fueled debate about vigilantism and gun rights, with prosecutors in the Rittenhouse case alleging that he responded to the scene only after answering a citizen militia’s call on social media to protect Kenosha businesses from protesters.
While race was not an overt issue in the Rittenhouse trial, it arose in Georgia during jury selection when the trial judge seated 11 white jurors — andonly one Black one. It again took center stage during the trial when Kevin Gough, an attorney for Bryan, objected to “high-profile members of the African-American community” who were in attendance.
“We don’t want any more Black pastors coming in here … sitting with the victim’s family, trying to influence the jury in this case,” he said, specifically citing the presence of the Rev. Al Sharpton as “intimidating,” reportsThe Washington Post. Gough later apologized.
Travis McMichael in court Nov. 22, 2021, in Brunswick, Ga.Stephen B. Morton-Pool/Getty Images
Arbery’s shooting had helped to propel a summer-longmovement nationwide of protest, some of it turning violent, against racial injustice and police brutalitythat linked his name with several others.
On Nov. 22, 2021, demonstrators rallied outside the Glynn County Courthouse in Brunswick, Georgia, in support of Ahmaud Arbery.Stephen B Morton/AP/Shutterstock
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That same district attorney, George Barnhill, wrote in a separate analysis: “The family are not strangers to the local criminal justice system. From best we can tell, Ahmaud’s older brother has gone to prison in the past. … It also appears a cousin has been prosecuted … .”
Another Georgia prosecutor, Jackie Johnson, the former district attorney of Glynn County,was indicted in Septemberon accusations she obstructed police officers from arresting Travis and showed “favor” to Greg, who previously had worked in her office, according to an indictment against her. Johnson was the first of four prosecutors to be in charge of the case, which eventually landed with Dunikoski, a senior prosecutor from Cobb County.
Johnson is charged with violation of oath of public officer and obstruction of a law enforcement officer, and has entered a not guilty plea.
Greg McMichael in court Nov. 18, 2021, in Brunswick, Ga.Sean Rayford/Getty Images
As Arbery attempted to outrun his pursuers, they blocked his escape route. The video then shows Arbery running toward Travis, who has gotten out of the truck, as the first shotgun blast is recorded.
Georgia Bureau of Investigations Special Agent Richard Dialtestified during a preliminary hearingin June 2020 that Bryan told authorities Travis then referred to Arbery with aracial sluras he lay dying.
The three men now convicted of Arbery’s death also still facefederal hate crime chargesin the case — specifically, one count each of interference with rights and one count each of attempted kidnapping, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announcedin a news release.Like the state prosecutors, the federal prosecutors allege that Bryan joined the McMichaels in chasing Arbery and using his truck to cut off Arbery’s path.
source: people.com
