*Gregory and Travis McMichael, the father and son duo who were seen on video participating in the killing of an unarmed black man who was jogging in South Georgia, were arrested Thursday evening.
Gregory McMichael, 64, a former police officer, and his son Travis McMichael, 34, were both charged with murder and aggravated assault in the February 23 shooting of Ahmaud Arbery, 25.
It’s worth noting that local prosecutors had initially refused to charge the pair who say they suspected Arbery was a burglar running through their neighborhood. The incident has become a racial flashpoint.
As we reported earlier, Waycross Judicial Circuit District Attorney George E. Barnhill said in the memo that Gregory McMichael, Travis McMichael and their neighbor William Bryan were in “hot pursuit of a burglary suspect” when they shot Arbery as he jogged through the Satilla Shores neighborhood just outside of Brunswick, Georgia. Barnhill sent the memo to Glynn County Police Capt. Tom Jump
“It appears it was their intent to stop and hold this criminal suspect until law enforcement arrived,” Barnhill wrote. “Under Georgia law, that is perfectly legal.”
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Here’s more via USA Today:
Barnhill also identifies William Bryan, who is white, as the man who shot the video of the killing of Arbery. Bryan has an address listed in the Satilla Shores neighborhood, according to the police report.
The decision not to arrest the McMichaels or Bryan fueled outcry across the nation with attorneys for Arbery’s family saying he was racially profiled. Local officials and community leaders say a history of nepotism and privilege in the district attorney offices of Waycross and Brunswick has allowed the killers to remain free.
Barnhill said in the letter that he was recusing himself from the case over a conflict of interest. In the memo, he stated that Arbery’s mother wanted him off the case because his son worked in the Brunswick District Attorney’s office.
Brunswick District Attorney Jackie Johnson had previously recused herself from the case because Gregory McMichael was a retired investigator from her office. Gregory McMichael is also a former Glynn County police officer.
“You have relational connections that run back for generations,” said Rev. John Perry II, president of the Brunswick NAACP. “We believe the privilege of relationships caused the delay we are experiencing.”
Perry has called for Glynn County Police Chief John Powell, who is currently on paid administrative leave for violating oath of office in an unrelated matter, to step down.
“Based on his negligence to say that an arrest should be made, there is no way that our taxpayer dollars should be paying him,” Perry said.
Meanwhile, Benjamin Crump, an attorney for the Arbery family, posted a photo on Twitter Thursday of a man he says is Bryan.
“If he chased down Ahmaud and filmed his execution, he should be arrested and charged with aiding and abetting them in committing this crime of murder,” Crump said.
You can read/learn MORE at USA Today.
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