A grand jury has indicted three white men involved in the murder of Ahmaud Arbery – a young black man who was confronted and shot dead as he went for a jog in the coastal city of Brunswick, Georgia.
Ahmaud Arbery was out jogging through the neighbourhood on February 23 when he was stopped by former police officer Gregory McMichael, 64, and his son, Travis, 34. The McMichaels said that they suspected Arbery of being involved in some burglaries that had taken place in the neighbourhood which led them to follow him in their pick-up truck to make a citizens arrest.
A now viral video recording of the confrontation between Arbery and the McMichaels was filmed by William Bryan (a neighbour of the McMichaels), showing the moment Arbery was shot dead by Travis. Following the video going viral, calls were called from across the world demanding justice for Arbery.
4 months after the devastating murder of Mr Arbery, a grand jury in the U.S state of Georgia has now indicted the two McMichaels and Bryan men in the killing of an unarmed black man.
“This is another positive step, another great step for finding justice for Ahmaud, for finding justice for this family and the community beyond,” District Attorney Joyette Holmes said on Wednesday.
Holmes also told the press that a grand jury had indicted all three men on charges including malice and felony murder. The three men also face two counts of aggravated assault and one count each of false imprisonment and criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment.
An attorney for Bryan has repeatedly said Bryan committed no crime and was only a witness.
From left to right: William Bryan, Gregory McMichael and Travis McMichael
Reacting to the jury’s indictment, Mr Arbery’s mother Wanda Cooper-Jones, told NBC Nightly News: “At this point I do believe the case is moving in the right direction. This just empowers us to fight. This is just the first steps of it – we still have a long way to go.”
Huge protests have recently been taking place across the the world following the death of another unarmed black man, George Floyd, last month.