The three men who were found guilty last November of murdering Ahmaud Arbery are also guilty of federal hate crime charges, a jury ruled Tuesday.
The three defendants, Travis McMichael, his father, Gregory McMichael, and William “Roddie” Bryan, pleaded not guilty to the charges, but the jury ultimately concluded that they violated Arbery’s civil rights and had a racial motivation in their pursuit of him. The three men were found guilty of interference with rights, which is a hate crime, and attempted kidnapping. The McMichaels were also found guilty of using a firearm in the commission of a crime.
“Tomorrow will be the two-year mark for when their son Ahmaud Arbery was lynched for jogging while black. And these parents joined a fraternity that no parent wants to be a member of and with such dignity, they stood up for Ahmaud,” attorney Ben Crump said following the ruling. “I believe that this is the first time in Georgia’s history where there has been a conviction for a federal hate crime.”
The jury began deliberating Monday after a weeklong trial, and U.S. District Court Judge Lisa Godbey Wood announced they reached the decision Tuesday morning.
The case was prosecuted by the Justice Department, which announced the charges last April. Officials alleged in both the interference and kidnapping charges the defendants pursued Arbery because of his race. During the trial, prosecutors showed text messages and social media posts from Travis McMichael and Bryan in which they used racial slurs. The FBI was unable to access Greg McMichael’s cellphone to assess whether he made similar remarks, the Associated Press reported. Witnesses claiming they had seen the defendants use racial slurs also testified during the trial.
Lawyers for the defendants argued their past statements did not prove they had a racial motivation when they pursued Arbery.
Last month, a judge rejected a plea deal prosecutors reached in the hate crime charges with the McMichaels. As part of the agreement, the McMichaels would plead guilty to the interference charge and prosecutors would recommend they serve 30 years in federal prison. The parents of Arbery, Wanda Cooper-Jones and Marcus Arbery, publicly criticized the deal and said they were “vehemently” opposed to it. Following Tuesday’s verdict, Ahmaud Arbery’s mother again criticized the Justice Department for considering a plea agreement with the McMichaels.
“I told the DOJ that yes, they were prosecutors. But one thing they did not have was a son that was lying in a cold grave, and they still didn’t hear my cry,” she said. “We got a victory today, but there’s so many families out there that don’t get victories because of people that we have fighting for us.”
When Arbery’s parents expressed public opposition to the plea agreement, the DOJ released a statement saying they pursued the agreement after attorneys for Ahmaud Arbery’s family said they were not opposed to a plea deal.
The McMichaels were previously sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole following their conviction in state court last November for the murder of Ahmaud Arbery. Bryan was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole.
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Following a confrontation on Feb. 23, 2020, Travis McMichael shot Ahmaud Arbery, an act McMichael’s lawyers claim was in self-defense.
In court, the McMichaels argued they pursued Arbery to perform a citizen’s arrest because they believed he committed crimes in the area before the encounter. Law enforcement ultimately found Arbery did not have any stolen items or weapons on him when he was shot and said he was out jogging when the incident took place.
