Who was Ahmaud Arbery?

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A former star high school football player, his father said he often exercised in the area. His family has described him as a good, generous young man with a big heart. He would have turned 26 in May. He had enrolled at South Georgia Technical College, preparing to become an electrician, just like his uncles. But first, he decided, he would take a break. College could wait until the fall. Those who knew him speak of a seemingly bottomless reservoir of kindness used to encourage others, of an easy smile and infectious laughter that could lighten just about any situation. Like his brother, Marcus Jr., Ahmaud tried out for the Brunswick Pirates football team. His slender build certainly didn’t make him a shoo-in for linebacker on the junior varsity squad, said Jason Vaughn, his former coach and an American history teacher at the school. But he had incredible speed. “He was undersized, but his heart was huge,” the coach said. “If I was standing in the hallway, kind of looking mean or having a bad day — maybe my lesson plan didn’t go right — Maud could kind of sense that about me,” Vaughn said. “He’d come stand beside me and be like, ‘I’m Coach Vaughn today. Y’all keep going to class. Hurry up, hurry up!’ … He was always trying to make people smile.” 

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What happened to him?

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On February 23, 2020, Ahmaud Marquez Arbery, an unarmed 25-year-old man, was fatally shot near Brunswick in Glynn County, Georgia, while jogging on Holmes Road. Arbery had been pursued and confronted by two white residents, Travis McMichael and his father Gregory, who were armed and driving a pickup truck. The event was recorded on video by a third Satilla Shores resident, William "Roddie" Bryan, who was following Arbery in a second vehicle.  

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A video of Arbrery’s death was recorded by William "Roddie" Bryan, a neighbor of the McMichaels, using his cellphone from his vehicle as he followed Arbery jogging down a neighborhood road. From the camera's perspective, Arbery is seen jogging on the left side of the road when he encounters a white pickup truck that has stopped in the right lane. Gregory McMichael is standing in the truck bed, while Travis McMichael initially stands beside the driver's door with a shotgun. The vehicle of the person who was recording comes to a stop behind Arbery and the pickup truck. As Arbery approaches the pickup truck, shouting can be heard. Arbery then crosses from the left side of the road to the right side and runs around the passenger's side of the truck. After passing the truck's front, Arbery turns left. Meanwhile, Travis McMichael, holding his shotgun, approaches Arbery at the truck's front.  

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Travis and Arbery grapple over the shotgun in view of the camera. While struggling, both men disappear off camera view on the left side of the camera frame, after which the audio of a second gunshot is heard. When they come back into camera view, Arbery appears to throw punches and tries to grab the shotgun. A third gunshot is heard being fired by Travis at point-blank range as Arbery appears to throw a right-handed punch at his head. Arbery recoils back, stumbles, and collapses in the middle of the road face-down while Travis walks away. Gregory McMichael, who has taken out a handgun but not fired, then runs towards the other two men. 

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The autopsy report released by the GBI ruled Arbery's death was a homicide and that it was caused by three gunshot wounds. One gunshot wounded the upper left chest, one gunshot wounded the lower middle chest, and one gunshot caused a "deep, gaping" graze wound to the right wrist.  

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What happened with his case?

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The case started under the jurisdiction of Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney Jackie Johnson, but because Gregory McMichael had previously worked as an investigator in her office, she recused herself from further involvement in the case On February 27, 2020, the case was transferred by the Georgia Attorney General's Office to the Waycross Judicial Circuit District Attorney's office. The Waycross Judicial Circuit is the immediately adjacent circuit to the south of Brunswick Judicial Circuit.  

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The GBI found probable cause to charge Gregory and Travis McMichael within 36 hours of taking the case, and, on May 7, 3 months after Arbery’s death, arrested the pair on charges of felony murder and aggravated assault. The McMichaels were booked into the Glynn County Jail. 

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On May 21, William "Roddie" Bryan was charged on felony murder and attempt to commit false imprisonment. According to the arrest warrant, Bryan tried "to confine and detain" Arbery without legal authority by "utilizing his vehicle on multiple occasions" before Arbery was shot. The GBI said their investigators found "a number of pieces of video" that linked Bryan to the case. 

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At the June 4, 2020 preliminary hearing, a Glynn County Magistrate Court judge ruled that there was probable cause for the murder charges against all three men. The prosecution presented additional evidence to the court to support the murder charges, including hours of testimony from the lead GBI investigator. The investigator testified that the three men "chased, hunted down and ultimately executed" Arbery, and that none of the three had called 9-1-1, and stated: "I don't believe it was self-defense by Mr. McMichael. I believe it was self-defense by Mr. Arbery. I believe Mr. Arbery was being pursued, and he ran until he couldn't run anymore. And it was: turn his back to a man with a shotgun, or fight with his bare hands against a man with a shotgun, and he chose to fight." The prosecution also introduced a statement to the GBI by William Bryan that Travis McMichael said "fucking ni**er" while standing over Arbery's body, and testimony that Travis McMichael had previously used the same slur on previous occasions in social media postings and in text messages. The alleged use of a racial slur could factor into a federal investigation looking into whether hate crime charges will be brought. 

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On June 24, 2020, it was announced that a Glynn County grand jury had issued an indictment against all three defendants, each on nine counts: malice murder, four counts of felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault, false imprisonment and criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment. 

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What can we do?

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1. Share Ahmaud’s story and remember his name. 

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2. Donate to Ahmaud's mother's GoFundMe:

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