All Three Defendants Convicted of Hate Crimes in Georgia Killing
BRUNSWICK, Ga. — The three men convicted of the murder in the fatal shooting of Ahmaud Arbery were found guilty Tuesday morning of federal hate crimes and lesser civil rights charges.
In addition the jury also found father and son Greg and Travis McMichael and neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan guilty of attempted kidnapping, while the McMichaels were also found guilty of the use of a firearm in the commission of a crime.
During the trial, prosecutors showed roughly two dozen text messages and social media posts in which Travis McMichael and Bryan used racist slurs and made derogatory comments about Black people.
The FBI wasn’t able to access Greg McMichael’s phone because it was encrypted.
The McMichaels grabbed guns and jumped in a pickup truck to pursue Arbery after seeing him running in their neighborhood outside the Georgia port city of Brunswick in February 2020.
Bryan joined the pursuit in his own pickup and recorded cellphone video of Travis McMichael fatally shooting Arbery.
Defense attorneys contended the three didn’t chase and kill Arbery because of his race but acted in the mistaken belief that Arbery had committed crimes in their neighborhood.
Both Travis and Greg McMichaels along with Bryan had pleaded not guilty to the hate crime charges.
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