Travis McMichael (from left to right); his father, Gregory McMichael; and William “Roddie” Bryan were on trial for the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, a Black man who was fatally shot while on the run last year in Georgia.
Sean Rayford, Octavio Jones-Pool / Getty Images
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Travis McMichael (from left to right); his father, Gregory McMichael; and William “Roddie” Bryan were on trial for the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, a Black man who was fatally shot while on the run last year in Georgia.
Sean Rayford, Octavio Jones-Pool / Getty Images
The three white men who chased and killed Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man jogging through their Georgia neighborhood last year, were all found guilty of murder.
The famous shooting – and it took 10 weeks for law enforcement to make the first arrest – sparked racial injustice protests in the summer of 2020.
After the judge read out the first guilty verdict, a whistle blew in the courtroom at Glynn County Courthouse in Brunswick, Ga. “It’s a long time coming,” the man exclaimed as the judge kicked them out of the courtroom.
Father and son Greg McMichael, 65, and Travis McMichael, 35, and neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan, 52, all face the same nine counts in Georgia State Court: one count of malicious murder, four counts of felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault, one count of false imprisonment and one count of willful felony. They pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Jurors found all three men guilty of nearly all of the charges against them on Wednesday. Travis McMichael was found guilty of all nine counts. Greg McMichael was not found guilty of one count of malicious murder, and Bryan was not found guilty of one count of malicious murder, one count of felony murder, and one count of aggravated assault.
When the verdicts were read, Travis McMichael was almost expressionless, and finally sighed. Greg McMichael bowed to the first guilty verdict against him. Bryan frowned in pain as the judge read out his rulings aloud.
Watch the judge read the sentence
Prosecutors say they intend to seek life in prison without pardoning the three defendants. Their sentencing date has yet to be scheduled.
Arbery, an avid runner, was jogging through the Satilla Shores neighborhood in Glynn County on February 23, 2020, when McMichaels spotted him and then pursued him in a Ford F pickup truck. -150. Bryan then joined the chase, which prosecutors say lasted five minutes, in his Chevy Silverado truck. Travis McMichael approached Arbery with a shotgun and, after a brief struggle, shot and killed him.
A protester of racial injustice holds a photo of Ahmaud Arbery during a march in May 2020 in Washington, DC
Michael S. Williamson / The Washington Post via Getty Images
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Michael S. Williamson / The Washington Post via Getty Images
A protester of racial injustice holds a photo of Ahmaud Arbery during a march in May 2020 in Washington, DC
Michael S. Williamson / The Washington Post via Getty Images
Arbery’s death is considered by many to be racially motivated and the trial as another test case for racial justice. His family has described it as a “modern-day confinement,” and activists see it as an example of the suspicion and violence that Blacks face in America when doing their jobs. daily.
No evidence has been brought forward of racial hatred in this state trial, but that will be the subject of next year’s federal hate crimes trial against all three men.
Since the opening statement began on November 5, security teams for the McMichaels and Bryan have argued that their clients suspect Arbery is involved in reports of several residential burglaries. mostly white people. Although surveillance video showed Arbery entering a house under construction on several occasions, no evidence was presented in court that he took anything or that he was responsible for any break-ins. any entry or theft in the neighborhood.
Lawyers for the defendants said they intended to arrest a citizen and question Arbery. And Travis McMichael, who eventually fired three shots, two of which a medical examiner testified hit Arbery twice, said he feared for his life as the two scuffled. .
The prosecution has rejected the suggestion that Arbery was shot down in self-defence. “They shot and killed him,” lead prosecutor Linda Dunikoski said at the conclusion of arguments Monday. “Not because he’s a threat to them, but because he won’t stop and talk to them.”
The jury began deliberation shortly before noon on Tuesday. In a county where black people make up nearly 27% population, 11 of the jurors are white and one is black.
Video evidence attracts the attention of the case
As Bryan was helping in pursuit of Arbery, he took a video of the final moments of the confrontation.
This graphic video started going viral online in early May 2020 after almost three months passed without any arrests.
Arbery’s mother, Wanda Cooper, said that local law enforcement officials were unable to immediately and meaningfully investigate the murder, and she accused Brunswick County District Attorney’s Office regarding the cover-up. She noted that Greg McMichael is a former police officer who also worked with the DA office.
The two Brunswick County prosecutors who were appointed in the case ended up reusing themselves, so Dunikoski of Cobb County was appointed as the lead prosecutor in the trial. Judge Walmsley was brought to the case after all five judges in the Brunswick Judicial Circuit rehearsed.
The case has attracted national attention for several months as there have been several high-profile murders of Black people by police, including the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer and the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor at her home. It was by Louisville, Ky., police officer. These cases have led to calls for justice and police reform.
Defense attorneys say their clients are trying to protect their communities
During the trial, which lasted about two weeks, attorneys for all three defendants described them as individuals trying to protect their neighborhood.
“This case is about duty and responsibility,” defense attorney Robert Rubin, who represents Travis McMichael, said in opening remarks. “It’s about Travis McMichael’s duty and responsibility to himself, to his family, and to his neighborhood.”
Greg McMichael told police there had been several recent break-ins in the area prior to the deadly encounter.
While in his front yard on the day of the shooting, he said he saw someone he believes was involved in those break-ins “carrying a**” down a residential street, according to one day February 23 Glynn . County Sheriff’s Department report problem.
Defense attorneys said the McMichaels jumped into the truck and gave chase because they wanted to make an arrest of a citizen. The older McMichael is armed with a .357 Magnum and Travis has a shotgun. Arbery has no weapons.
Greg McMichael’s security team has insisted that they do not intend to harm Arbery, but only want to detain him.
Superior Court Judge Timothy Walmsley listens to defense attorney Jason B. Sheffield as he presents a final argument to the jury during the trial of Travis McMichael; his father, Gregory McMichael; and William “Roddie” Bryan at Glynn County Courthouse Monday in Brunswick, Ga.
Stephen B. Morton / AP
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Superior Court Judge Timothy Walmsley listens to defense attorney Jason B. Sheffield as he presents a final argument to the jury during the trial of Travis McMichael; his father, Gregory McMichael; and William “Roddie” Bryan at Glynn County Courthouse Monday in Brunswick, Ga.
Stephen B. Morton / AP
During the chase, the McMichaels chased Arbery past Bryan’s house. Bryan was on the front porch of his home and, in the prosecutor’s words, called, “Did anyone catch him?” before he joined the attempt to corner Arbery.
Jason Sheffield, another defense attorney for Travis McMichael, said during the trial that McMichael had every right to make an arrest of a citizen because he considered Arbery a “recurring intruder”.
Sheffield McMichael said He didn’t wake up that day with the intention of killing Arbery, but only to defend himself when he thought he was in danger.
McMichael at one point defended himself and stated, “He’s obviously attacking me, that if he gets the shotgun from me, it’s a life-or-death situation. And I’m going to have to stop him. do this, so I shot.”
Bryan’s attorney, Kevin Gough, suppose, I think His client’s presence did not alter the course of the event: “Roddie Bryan’s presence is completely redundant and has nothing to do with the tragic death of Ahmaud Arbery.” He also said his customers were unaware McMichaels were armed.
The prosecution said that the defendants had no legal reason to pursue Arbery
Lead prosecutor Dunikoski described the three men as “strangers with murderous intent” who had made the “driveway decision” to go after Arbery.
She rejected the idea that they had any reason to make the arrest of a legitimate citizen, stressing that the men had no real knowledge of any crimes the young man had committed. offender the day they saw him run past – and never actually told him they were trying to make an arrest.
“Nobody said ‘I saw him commit a crime today, no one said ‘I’m arresting a citizen,’ no one tried to arrest him for anything,” she said. “Nobody said anything. of these on February 23, 2020.”
“Greg McMichael assumed the worst,” the prosecutor said, adding that he knocked his son off the sofa so they could hunt down Arbery together. She points out that McMichael later told police he didn’t know for sure if Arbery actually broke into the home that day.
“You cannot arrest a citizen because someone is running down the street,” she said.
And like McMichaels, prosecutors said, Bryan also didn’t ask for hard evidence of any wrongdoing by Arbery before he gave chase.
“That’s what being a side of the crime – you go to help some person who is committing some crime, try to stop this guy and arrest him and detain him,” Dunikoski said.
The prosecutor claimed that Arbery would have been alive if Bryan hadn’t used his truck to chop Arbery and stop him from escaping. And she noted that Greg McMichael informed police that he told Arbery he would “blow your head off” if he didn’t stop running.
Arbery “was trying to stay away from strangers who were yelling at him and threatening to kill him,” Dunikoski said. “And then they killed him.”
Emma Bowman of NPR contributed to this report.
