The shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery after he was hunted by an ad hoc group of white want-to-be cops has led to the state of Georgia repealing its Civil War-era citizen’s arrest laws.
The bill, which was signed into law on Monday passed with bipartisan support in the state legislature, will no longer allow citizens to attempt an arrest should a crime be committed in their presence. If you have a problem with the language “crime committed in their presence,” you are not alone. In the Arbery case, the young man’s only crime was jogging while black when he was accosted by father and son duo, Greg and Travis McMichael, while being tracked by a third man in a pick up truck, William Bryan.
“Ahmaud was the victim of a vigilante-style violence that has no place in our country or in our state,” Gov. Kemp said while signing the citizen’s arrest laws repeal. “Today we are replacing a Civil War-era law, ripe for abuse, with language that balances the sacred right to self-defense of a person and property with our shared responsibility to root out injustice and set our state on a better path forward.”
Arbery’s mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, told reporters at the signing that while she’s happy for the repeal, she’s saddened about how it came about. “Unfortunately, I had to lose my son to get significant change, but again I’m still thankful,” she said.
Federal prosecutors said the three men “used force and threats of force to intimidate and interfere with Arbery’s right to use a public street because of his race.”
Citizen’s arrest laws exacerbated by White entitlement and race hating are contributing factors to the murder of Ahmaud Arbery murder while he was jogging. Prosecutors said the McMichaels “armed themselves with firearms, got into a truck, and chased Arbery through the public streets of the neighborhood while yelling at him, using their truck to cut off his route, and threatening him with firearms.”
Bryan also joined the chase and cut off Arbery’s route with his truck, prosecutors said.
“All three defendants attempted to unlawfully seize and confine Arbery by chasing after him in their trucks in an attempt to restrain him, restrict his free movement, corral and detain him against his will, and prevent his escape,” the Justice Department said in a press release..
A federal hearing was held for the three men on Tuesday. All three of the men face one count of interference with rights and one count of attempted kidnapping, with the McMichaels also facing a count of using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.
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