The Shooting of Ahmaud Arbery

On February 23, 2020, Ahmaud Arbery was pursued while running near Brunswick, GA. The 25-year-old was fatally shot by Travis McMichel, who was chasing him in a pickup truck with his father, Gregory McMichael. Another vehicle, followed the McMichels, with William Bryan inside. (the graphic video can be seen here)

The Glynn County Police Department responded to the shooting, and was advised by the Brunswick District Attorney not to make any arrests. The District Attorney's office would later deny that they told the police that recommendation. The case ended up being transferred through four different prosecutors offices, with all not pursuing charges in the shooting. 

On May 5, 2020, a video of the shooting went viral online. It wasn't long after that District Attorney, Tom Durden informed that a grand jury would ultimately decide whether charges would be brought on the case. It was then that the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) at the bequest of Governor Brian Kemp began investigating.

Two days later, on May 7th, the GBI arrested the McMichaels and later, William "Robbie" Bryan on May 21st. The trio was charged with felony murder and other crimes. Additional evidence was presented by the prosecutor on June 4th to support the murder charges on the men. Included in the evidence was a statement to the GBI by Bryan that Travis McMichel said, "f--king n-----r" as Ahmaud Arbery laid on the ground dying. The grand jury indicted all three of the men on charges of malice murder, felony murder, aggrevated assault, false imprisonment and criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment.

On April 28, 2021, the three men were all indicted on federal charges of one count each of the interference with rights, which is a hate crime as well attempted kidnapping. Both Travis and Gregory McMichaels were also charged with separate counts of using firearms during the crime of violence.

Jury selection began on October 18th, 2021 for the case. 600 people were summoned to jury duty on that date, yet only 283 people actually showed up according to the Clerk of Superior Court for Glynn County, Ron Adams. The next day, October 19th, another 400 potential  jurors were summoned, and only half that number showed up. The attorneys and judge for the case are working to narrow down the number of possible jurors to 64, before narrowing that number down to the final 12 jurors with 4 alternates.

The jury selection process is proving to be difficult, as many potential jurors have reservations about serving and have already formed strong opinions on the case. It's definitely not going to be easy to seat a jury with how polarizing this case has been in the community. 

The actual trial is set to begin November 5th. 

 

What are your thoughts on the Ahamud Arbery shooting? 

Will you be following the trial next year?