EX-PROSECUTOR INDICTED FOR MISCONDUCT IN ARBERY DEATH
SAVANNAH, Ga. — A former Georgia prosecutor was indicted Thursday on misconduct charges alleging she used her position to shield the men who chased and killed Ahmaud Arbery from being charged with crimes immediately after the shootings.
A grand jury in coastal Glynn County indicted former Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney Jackie Johnson on a felony count of violating her oath of office and hindering a law enforcement officer, a misdemeanor.
The indictment resulted from an investigation Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr requested last year into local prosecutors’ handling of Arbery’s slaying.
“While an indictment was returned today, our file is not closed, and we will continue to investigate in order to pursue justice,” Carr, a Republican, said in a statement.
Arbery was killed Feb. 23, 2020, after a white father and son, Greg and Travis McMichael, armed themselves and pursued the 25-year-Black man in a pickup truck after spotting him running in their neighborhood near Brunswick. A neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan, joined the chase and took video of Travis McMichael shooting Arbery with a shotgun.
The McMichaels and Bryan remained free for more than two months until video was leaked. The McMichaels and Bryan are now facing murder and other charges.
Greg McMichael had worked as an investigator in Johnson’s office, having retired in 2019. Evidence in pretrial hearings shows he called Johnson’s cell and left her a voice message soon after the shooting. The indictment says Johnson interfered with police at the scene by “directing that Travis McMichael should not be placed under arrest.”