All 3 of Ahmaud Arbery’s Killers Found Guilty of Federal Hate Crimes
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After deliberating for less than a day, a jury found all three of Ahmaud Arbery’s murderers guilty of federal hate crime charges Tuesday. The conviction carries the possibility of another life sentence for the trio that fatally chased the 25-year-old Black man as he jogged through their Georgia neighborhood two years ago.
Gregory McMichael, Travis McMichael, and William “Roddie” Bryan, were sentenced to life in prison for the killing in January. On Tuesday, jurors determined that the McMichaels, who are father and son, and their neighbor Bryan were guilty of targeting Arbery due to his race and violating his civil rights.
All three men were found guilty of one count of interference of rights, according to CNN, while the McMichaels were each found guilty of on a charge of using and carrying a gun.
During the weeklong trial, jurors were shown racist social media posts and texts from Travis McMichael, who fatally shot Arbery after pursuing him in a truck with his father, and Bryan, who followed behind and filmed the encounter, according to the Associated Press. (Gregory McMichael’s phone was encrypted, so the FBI couldn’t access his messages.) Travis McMichael had previously spoken about killing Black people and loving his job because he worked with “zero n------,” according to the Washington Post.
Attorneys for Bryan and the McMichaels had argued the men chased Arbery because they found him suspicious, thinking he was tied to a string of local break-ins.
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Emma Ockerman, Khareem Sudlow
