Ahmaud Arbery’s alleged killers set for trial on Oct. 18, much to former District attorney Jackie Johnson’s disappointment. Johnson lost her job and has been indicted on charges of violating her oath of office and obstructing a police officer in connection with an investigation into the killing of Arbery.
The three men charged with the killing of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery will go on trial in Georgia on Oct. 18, 2021. The trio of alleged killers; Travis McMichael, his father Gregory McMichael, and William “Roddie” Bryan Jr. have also been charged with federal hate crimes and are scheduled to begin trial in federal court in February 2022.
But the former Brunswick Judicial Circuit prosecutor Johnson ordered an investigating officer to stand down and tried to prevent the arrest of the alleged shooter, Travis McMichael. She is also charged with showing favoritism for another defendant Gregory McMichael, who maintained an informal relationship with the prosecutor’s office as civilian community officers.
On February 23, 2020 Ahmaud Arbery was confronted by an ad hoc group of vigilantes while jogging on a public street in the Satilla Shores neighborhood of Brunswick, Georgia, Travis and Gregory McMichael armed themselves with firearms and went hunting for suspicious characters in the mostly white community.
The three alleged killers set for trial got into a truck and chased Arbery through the neighborhood while yelling at him, using their vehicle to cut off his route, and threatening him with firearms, the U.S. Justice Department said in a statement. In a gut-wrenching exchange captured on video Travis McMichael leaped out of a pickup truck and pointed a shotgun at Arbery. As Arbery struggled with his aggressor the younger McMichael fired the Remington shotgun into Arbery’s torso and killed him.
William “Roddie” Bryan Jr., the man who recorded the shooting death of Arbery, is charged with striking the 25-year-old with his pickup truck during the February 23, 2020, encounter.
Bryan also faces charges of interference with rights and attempted kidnapping.
Each has pleaded not guilty.
“In addition to the hate-crime charges, Count Three alleges that 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 DOJ said in a news release detailing the charges.
“Counts Four and Five allege that during the crime of violence charged in Count One, Travis used, carried, brandished, and discharged a Remington shotgun, and Gregory used, carried, and brandished a .357 Magnum revolver.”
About Post Author
