A jury has found Travis McMichael, Greg McMichael and William “Roddie” Bryan guilty of murdering Ahmaud Arbery in February 2020.
All three white men were involved in the murder of Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man, on February 23, 2020, in Brunswick, Ga. Arbery was running through the neighborhood of Satilla Shores when the McMichaels, who are father and son, got in a pickup truck and pursued Arbery with guns. Travis McMichael shot and killed Arbery, while Bryan, the McMichaels’ neighbor, recorded the murder on his cellphone and joined the pursuit in his own truck.
Travis McMichael was found guilty of malice murder, four counts of felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault, false imprisonment and criminal attempt to commit a felony. He faces a minimum sentence of life in prison and a maximum of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Gregory McMichael, who is Travis’ father, and Bryan were both convicted of felony murder and face a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. All three men face federal hate crime charges of interference with rights and attempted kidnapping, and the McMichaels are indicted with discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. They will face another trial in February.
Arbery’s murder sparked a widespread rally for justice in the U.S., and many civil rights activists and entertainment figures spoke out against the crime. The murder of George Floyd by Minnesota police officer Derek Chauvin and the police shooting of Breonna Taylor followed just months after Arbery’s murder, giving rise to the 2020 Black Lives Matter movement and protests.
Less than a week ago, Kyle Rittenhouse was found not guilty of homicide charges in the Kenosha, Wis., shootings, which where he fatally shot two men and injured another.