Georgia trio indicted on murder charges in killing of Arbery

ATLANTA — Three white men have been indicted on murder charges in the killing of Ahmaud Arbery, a Black man fatally shot while running in a suburban neighborhood near Georgia’s coast.

Prosecutor Joyette Holmes announced Wednesday that a grand jury has indicted Travis McMichael, Greg McMichael and William “Roddie” Bryan Jr. on charges including malice and felony murder in Arbery’s death.

Lawyers for the McMichaels have cautioned against a rush to judgment and have said the full story will come out in court. A lawyer for Bryan has maintained that his client was a witness.

Arbery was killed Feb. 23 when Greg and Travis McMichael, a white father and son, armed themselves and pursued the 25-yearold Black man running in their neighborhood. Greg McMichael told police he suspected Arbery was a burglar and that Arbery attacked his son before being shot. Arbery’s family has said he was out for a jog.

Bryan lives in the same subdivision, just outside the port city of Brunswick. Bryan said he saw the McMichaels driving by and joined the chase, a Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent Richard Dial testified earlier this month at a probable cause hearing.

It wasn’t until May 7 — two days after Bryan’s cellphone video leaked online and stirred a national outcry — that the McMichaels were arrested. Bryan was arrested May 22, and an arrest warrant said he tried “to confine and detain” Arbery without legal authority by “utilizing his vehicle on multiple occasions” before Arbery was shot.

Bryan told investigators that Travis McMichael cursed and said a racist slur as he stood over Arbery, moments after he fatally shot him, Dial testified.

Attorneys for Arbery’s mother and father issued statements applauding the indictment and stressing their desire to see the three men convicted and sentenced for his death.

Bob Rubin, a lawyer for Travis McMichael, 34, said in an email that prosecutors choose the facts they want to present to a grand jury when seeking an indictment. The defense team has found other facts “that are an integral part of the case,” he wrote.

Attorney Kevin Gough, who represents Bryan, 50, spoke at the county courthouse right after the indictment. “We welcome the action of the grand jury today,” Gough said. “While we disagree with it, it’s an important step in the process to moving this case closer to the speedy trial that Roddie has demanded.”

He said his client has committed no crime and has cooperated with law enforcement officers.

Lawyers for Greg McMichael, 64, did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.