It doesn’t look like they will be prosecuted. Two white men hunted a black man who was out for a jog and shot him twice.
Ahmaud Arbery was a former football player, and enjoyed running to stay fit. His friends and family stated that it wasn’t unusual to see him running around the town of Brunswick, Georgia.
On a Sunday afternoon in February Ahmaud ran past a white man named Gregory McMichael in his yard. McMichael called to his son, Travis McMichael inside the house and told him to grab his gun, while McMichael grabbed his own, a .357 magnum revolver:
“Travis, the guy is running down the street, lets go”
They got into a truck and started to follow Ahmaud. When they caught up to him they tried to detain him. They told the police that they approached Ahamaud saying “we just want to talk.” The incident ended in Ahmaud getting shot twice when he allegedly tried to take one of their weapons away. Ahmaud passed away from the gunshot wounds.
McMichael is a retired investigator in the district attorney’s office. Prosecutors have said so far they’re treating the case like like a citizens arrest, and that the two white men have acted within the scope of Georgia’s citizen’s arrest statute.
George E. Barnhill, the Waycross County D.A., chose to recuse himself after Ahmaud’s family complained that there would be a conflict of interest.
Barnhill, despite recusing himself still wrote a letter to police to state that Ahamaud had a criminal past that included shoplifting and probation violation in 2018.
McMichael is a retired investigator in the district attorney’s office. Prosecutors have said so far they’re treating the case like like a citizens arrest, and that the two white men have acted within the scope of Georgia’s citizen’s arrest statute.
George E. Barnhill, the Waycross County D.A., chose to recuse himself after Ahmaud’s family complained that there would be a conflict of interest.
Barnhill, despite recusing himself still wrote a letter to police to state that Ahamaud had a criminal past that included shoplifting and probation violation in 2018.
Ahmaud’s family and friends are trying to raise awareness for the case as it gathered little attention because of covid-19.
Those trying to raise awareness are ready to protest, but are unable to because of quarantine, and fear that they may spread the virus around.
Jason Vaughn, a football coach at Brunswick Highschool who coached Ahmaud stated
“There are a lot of people absolutely ready
to protest. But because of social distancing and being safe, we have to watch what’s going on with the coronavirus”
Vaughn said he himself was followed by a white man while trying jog in his neighborhood in recent times and cut down on it ever since.
The case has been been transfered to another county where a prosecutor will decide whether the case will be presented before a grand jury.
