On Thursday, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation arrested 64-year-old Gregory McMichael and his son, Travis McMichael, 34, over the deadly shooting of Ahmaud Arbery, local station News4Jax reported Thursday evening. Both men charged with murder and aggravated assault, according to the report.
Arbery, 25 was gun down while jogging through a Glynn County neighborhood the afternoon of Feb. 23.
Brunswick District Attorney Jackie Johnson recused herself because one of the men seen in the video of the fatal shooting pointing a gun at Arbery, Greg McMichael, is a retired investigator from her office. His son, Travis McMichael, is the alleged shooter.
The case was eventually assigned to Waycross District Attorney George Barnhill, who wrote, “The autopsy supports the initial opinion we gave you on February 24th, 2020 at the briefing room in the Glynn County Police Department after reviewing the evidence you had at that time. We do not see grounds for an arrest of any of the three parties.”
In the letter to Glynn County Police Capt. Tom Jump, Barnhill went on to go point-by-point why he felt Greg and Travis McMichael did not commit a crime in fatally shooting Arbery.
“It appears Travis McMichael, Greg McMichael and William Bryan were following in “hot pursuit of a burglary suspect with solid first-hand probably cause,” Barnhill wrote. “Arbery initiated the fight. … At that point, Arbery grabbed the shotgun (that Travis McMichael was holding). Under Georgia law, McMichael was allowed to use deadly force to protect himself.”
However, The Glynn County Police Department the District Attorneys Office and the attorneys for the McMichaels were not able to prove that Arbery burglarized any homes in the neighborhood.
“They have made reference to ongoing burglaries in this community, but some obscure, indistinct crime in the community does not empower the entire community to hunt down black men,” said Lee Merritt, Arbery’s family attorney. “These men were not performing any police function or any duty as a citizen of the state of Georgia. These men were vigilantes. They were a posse and they were performing a lynching in the middle of the day.”
“We are livid that he even attempted to taint this case with his rancid opinion about why this is justifiable,” Merritt said, according to News4Jax.
Warning: This video contains graphic images.
NEWS: Graphic video appears to show Ahmaud Arbery, 25 of GA., whose family says he was out for a run, confronted by 2 men who shot him dead saying they thought he was a burglar. A prosecutor wants a grand jury to decide whether the men should be charged. pic.twitter.com/kEYYJW7UlM
— David Begnaud (@DavidBegnaud) May 5, 2020
The video doesn’t lie.