The 2 White Men Involved in Fatal Shooting of Ahmaud Arbery Were Just Arrested and Charged With Murder
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The two white men who chased down and killed Ahmaud Arbery, a young black man running through their Georgia neighborhood, were just arrested and charged with murder after more than two months.
Gregory McMichael, 64, and his son, Travis McMichael, 34, were taken into custody and booked them in the Glynn County Jail, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation announced. Thursday They were both charged with murder and aggravated assault.
Shortly after Arbery’s death on Feb. 23, a local district attorney a local district attorney advised police the state didn’t have enough evidence to arrest McMichaels and cited the state’s “citizen’s arrest” statute, which allows people to detain a suspect in the absence of law enforcement. According to a police report, the McMichaels thought Arbery was a burglary suspect, despite his family's repeated insistence that he was innocent and the killing was racially motivated.
That prosecutor, George Barnhill, later recused himself from the case, due to potential conflicts of interest arising from the elder McMichael’s long career in county law enforcement. Another prosecutor, Tom Durden, announced earlier this week that a grand jury was set to weigh the evidence — including video of the moment Arbery died.
When Gregory McMichael spotted Arbery running down his road Feb. 23, he called out to his son and the two men hopped in a truck to pursue the 25-year-old, according to the police report. Armed with a shotgun and a pistol, they followed him as he ran and eventually blocked his path. Video of the encounter that circulated online earlier this week showed Arbery running around the vehicle before he and Travis struggled for the shotgun. Three shots rang out, and Arbery crumpled to the ground.
Attorneys for Arbery’s parents have argued that police have been in possession of the video for months, and that local police should’ve arrested the McMichaels sooner. After the video of Arbery’s killing went viral, however, they heightened demands to arrest the two men immediately.
Cover image: Photo of Ahmaud Arbery courtesy of I RUN WITH MAUD Facebook group
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Emma Ockerman, Khareem Sudlow
