A White father and his son who accosted and shot to death unarmed Black jogger Ahmaud Arbery in Brunswick, Georgia on February 23 were both charged with the murder of the twenty-five-year-old. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) arrested the 64-year-old Gregory McMichael, an ex-police officer and retired prosecution investigator, and his son Travis McMichael, 34, and charged them with murder and aggravated assault on Thursday, May 7.
The state agency has expressed no plans to investigate the local prosecutors and law enforcement agencies that had refused to arrest the father and son crime team or even to file charges against them for this incident that took place more than 2 months ago. An amateur video of the jogger’s encounter with the men surfaced back in February and despite protests and outrage, no actions were taken by local authorities with the McMichaels’ claims of self defense.
But in the weeks leading up to the charges, the video went viral and produced strong condemnation from politicians and civil rights activists. Presidential candidate Joe Biden compared the incident to a lynching and Georgia’s republican Governor Brian Kemp called the shooting “absolutely horrific.”
While jogging in the early afternoon, Arbery was confronted by the McMichaels with two firearms. Several shots were fired, and the victim was killed instantly.
A number of assistant district attorneys have recused themselves from prosecuting the case citing conflict of interest, and with mounting pressure from the community and Arbery’s family attorney, the state was brought in to review the matter. The state agency made their arrest only days after taking the lead to prosecute the case. The case is being investigated in partnership with District Attorney Tom Durden.
The local Glynn County Police Department also wants the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to investigate the public release of the videotape. However, the GBI district director Victor Reynolds expressed commitment to focus on the murder case and investigations that are directly related this horrendous crime.
“I cannot provide answers for what other agencies did or didn’t do. But I can tell you that based on our involvement in this case, and the fact that we hit the ground running and secured warrants for the two individuals on murder charges speaks volumes in itself,” Reynolds said.
Additionally, he expressed that his agency is also talking to William Bryan, who prosecutors identified as the man who videotaped the killing of Arbery.
Gregory McMichael contends that the news reports and videotape do not tell the true story. “All of the stuff that led up to this still hasn’t been released. There are many, many facts out there that have not come to light,” he said. He refused to commend further, referring questions to Brunswick attorney Alan Tucker, who refused to answer questions claiming he was not formally retained, according to a recent Washington Post release.
