The three men accused of murdering Ahmaud Arbery after spotting him running near a home under construction in their coastal Georgia neighborhood were indicted on Wednesday on federal hate crime and attempted kidnapping charges. Travis McMichael, 35; his father Gregory McMichael, 65; and William “Roddie” Bryan, 51, were each charged with “one count of interference with rights and with one count of attempted kidnapping,” the Department of Justice announced in a news release.
”Travis and Gregory McMichael were also charged with one count each of using, carrying, and brandishing—and in Travis’s case, discharging—a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence,” federal officials said in the release.
Bryan and the McMichaels are accused of using "force and threats of force to intimidate and interfere with Arbery’s right to use a public street because of his race" on Feb. 23, 2020.
The Department of Justice wrote in the release:
Two different Georgia district attorney offices are being investigated for “possible prosecutorial misconduct” in the handling of the investigation of Arbery's death. Even though Bryan captured footage of the moments leading up to the shooting and the Glynn County Police Department obtained the video the same day, Gregory and Travis McMichael weren't arrested until May 7, 2020 the Georgia Bureau of Investigations said. That was a full 74 days after Arbery’s death, which was ruled a homicide.
“We are deeply disappointed that the Justice Department bought the false narrative that the media and state prosecutors have promulgated,” Travis McMichael said in a statement WSB radio obtained. “There is absolutely nothing in the indictment that identifies how this is a federal hate crime and it ignores without apology that Georgia law allows a citizen to detain a person who was committing burglaries until police arrive.” State lawmakers have since passed legislation, supported by the governor, that effectively repeals the 158-year-old statute Democrats argue enabled Arbery’s killers by allowing them to legally attempt a citizen’s arrest.
Arbery’s case has been passed from prosecutor to prosecutor, with the Cobb County District Attorney's Office being the fourth prosecutors' office to take on the case. Former Cobb County District Attorney Joyette Holmes, who was unseated in a recent election by Democrat Flynn Broady, told WSB radio the federal charges make a statement. “It’s telling the story of what this case was just bringing forward for the public,” Holmes said. “Unfortunately, the evil that was seen and that was done to Ahmaud Arbery on that day. I was very happy to hear that the indictments came down.”
The lead prosecutor over the case, Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney Jesse Evans, resigned and was replaced with Senior ADA Linda Dunikoski, First Coast News reported. “I have complete confidence in her abilities,” Broady told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
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”Travis and Gregory McMichael were also charged with one count each of using, carrying, and brandishing—and in Travis’s case, discharging—a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence,” federal officials said in the release.
Bryan and the McMichaels are accused of using "force and threats of force to intimidate and interfere with Arbery’s right to use a public street because of his race" on Feb. 23, 2020.
The Department of Justice wrote in the release:
Two different Georgia district attorney offices are being investigated for “possible prosecutorial misconduct” in the handling of the investigation of Arbery's death. Even though Bryan captured footage of the moments leading up to the shooting and the Glynn County Police Department obtained the video the same day, Gregory and Travis McMichael weren't arrested until May 7, 2020 the Georgia Bureau of Investigations said. That was a full 74 days after Arbery’s death, which was ruled a homicide.
“We are deeply disappointed that the Justice Department bought the false narrative that the media and state prosecutors have promulgated,” Travis McMichael said in a statement WSB radio obtained. “There is absolutely nothing in the indictment that identifies how this is a federal hate crime and it ignores without apology that Georgia law allows a citizen to detain a person who was committing burglaries until police arrive.” State lawmakers have since passed legislation, supported by the governor, that effectively repeals the 158-year-old statute Democrats argue enabled Arbery’s killers by allowing them to legally attempt a citizen’s arrest.
Arbery’s case has been passed from prosecutor to prosecutor, with the Cobb County District Attorney's Office being the fourth prosecutors' office to take on the case. Former Cobb County District Attorney Joyette Holmes, who was unseated in a recent election by Democrat Flynn Broady, told WSB radio the federal charges make a statement. “It’s telling the story of what this case was just bringing forward for the public,” Holmes said. “Unfortunately, the evil that was seen and that was done to Ahmaud Arbery on that day. I was very happy to hear that the indictments came down.”
The lead prosecutor over the case, Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney Jesse Evans, resigned and was replaced with Senior ADA Linda Dunikoski, First Coast News reported. “I have complete confidence in her abilities,” Broady told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
RELATED: 2 Georgia prosecutors investigated for 'possible prosecutorial misconduct' in Ahmaud Arbery case
RELATED: Friends testify good character should win accused Arbery murderer bond. Then come the racist texts
RELATED: Father and son FINALLY arrested on murder and aggravated assault charges in Ahmaud Arbery case
RELATED: 'It was a lynching': Ex-Georgia cop and son accused of tracking down and killing Black jogger