Update
A federal judge in the Southern District of Georgia today sentenced Travis McMichael, 36, to life plus 10 years in prison; and his father Gregory McMichael, 66, to life plus seven years in prison; and William “Roddie” Bryan, 52, to 35 years in prison, for committing federal hate crimes and other offenses in connection with the killing of Ahmaud Arbery, a young Black man, who was jogging on the public streets of a Brunswick neighborhood when he was chased down and shot to death in February 2020.
All three defendants were convicted at trial in February 2022 on multiple counts, including one count of using violence to intimidate and interfere with Arbery because of his race and because he was using a public street.
All three defendants were also found guilty of attempting to kidnap Arbery by chasing after him in their trucks in an attempt to capture and confine him. Finally, Travis McMichael was found guilty of using, carrying, brandishing, and discharging a Remington shotgun in the course of the hate crime, which added ten years to his life sentence, and Gregory McMichael was found guilty of using, carrying, and brandishing a .357 Magnum revolver, which added seven years to his life sentence.
Lawyers for Mr. Arbery’s family have called his death a “modern-day lynching.” The McMichaels argue that they were defending themselves while trying to make a “citizen’s arrest.”
Original Story Was Skeptical
On Feb. 23 last year, Ahmaud Arbery, 25, was shot and killed by the McMichael’s while he was allegedly jogging through a neighborhood near Brunswick, Georgia.
Gregory, 64, and Travis, 34, were charged with murder and aggravated assault and are currently jailed in coastal Glynn County, Georgia. Their neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan, who filmed the footage on his cellphone, was also charged with murder for trying to “confine and detain” Arbery with his vehicle in the moments leading up to his killing.
They said Arbery looked similar to a man committing burglaries.
Cellphone video showed the father and son confronting him after a neighbor blocked him. They can be seen shooting him at close range.
Arbery was known as ‘The Jogger,’ not because he was actually a jogger, but because he was a robber who pretended to be a jogger, according to new evidence.
According to excerpts from the documents shared by Andy Ngo on Twitter, in August 2018, Arbery was allegedly caught by a woman who saw him in her backyard looking into the windows of her cars and was given a trespass warning by Burke County police officers.
“When confronted by the officers about the eye-witness reports, he lied and said he had ‘gone running in the street,’ and then became aggressive, confrontational, and repeatedly threatened that he would ‘whip the officer’s a*s’ if they didn’t leave him alone,” the report continued.
In another alleged incident that took place in October 2018 and captured on a Burke County police officer’s body cam, Arbery, and two other juveniles were found in a vacant mobile home, and when confronted by authorities, he said he was just out jogging. He was later charged with misdemeanor obstruction for running when given lawful commands to stop, according to the report.
Other eye-witness accounts and video evidence details Arbery and his repeated behavior of pretending to be out running and then committing crimes, which apparently also earned him the nickname “The Jogger” by members of his community.
“In 2019 and 2020, local convenience store witness interviews reveal Mr. Arbery became known as ‘The Jogger’ for his repeated conduct and behavior of running up, stretching in front, and then entering several convenience stores where he would grab items and run out before he got caught,” the excerpt reads.
“In 2020, a witness cell phone video revealed that Mr. Arbery was confronted at a convenience store by employees about his theft, conduct, and behavior. Mr. Arbery, concerned about his thefts, chose to fight a man who worked on location at the adjacent truck stop who tried to confront him about it,” the report stated of another eye-witness account.
New evidence introduced in the criminal case against the father & son in Georgia accused of murdering Ahmaud Arbery show that Arbery had a history of claiming to be a jogger to cover for criminal activities. #BLM pic.twitter.com/AHIqOPoCPn
— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) April 2, 2021
An update was added to reflect the view of the jury who tried the three men.
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