Ahmaud Arbery case: Jury finds McMichaels, Bryan guilty on felony murder charges
A jury reached its verdict Wednesday in the Ahmaud Arbery case at the Glynn County Courthouse in Brunswick, Georgia.
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People outside Glynn County Courthouse react to Arbery trial verdicts (Matt Leach/Fox Digital)
Ahmaud Arbery's friends and family were jubilant outside the Glynn County Courthouse on Wednesday after three men were found guilty of murdering the 25-year-old.
"For real, all lives matter, not just black children. We don’t want to see nobody go through this. I don’t want no daddy to watch his kid get shot down like that. It’s all our problem. So let’s keep fighting to make this a better place for all human beings. Love everybody! All human beings need to be treated equally," Marcus Arbery, Ahmaud Arbery's father, said after the jury came back with their verdict.
Linda Gamble told Fox News that she is happy Arbery's family "can sleep now."
"They can rest," Gamble said. "There is going to be a chair empty at their dinner table, but they can look at that empty chair and see peace."
Other supporters said that while they are happy with the verdict, there's still a long road ahead.
"We got justice for this brother, but we got a lot of work to do," Dana Roberts Beckham said.
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Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman Joyce Beatty took aim at the "vitriol and racist tropes invoked by the defense” as she praised the guilty verdicts for the three men who were convicted of murdering Ahmaud Arbery.
“This story — although devastating — is not new; we’ve seen this play out repeatedly. Vigilantes acting with racial animus take the lives of Black men and boys, and claim self-defense when confronted with the consequences of their actions," Beatty said in a statement after the jury reached their verdict.
"Travis McMichael; his father, Gregory McMichael; and William Bryan are criminals who deserve to be punished for their role(s) in murdering 25-year-old, Mr. Ahmaud Arbery.”
Kevin Gough, a defense attorney for one of the three men who were found guilty on Wednesday of murdering Ahmaud Arbery, told Fox News that he will file a motion for a new trial for his client next week.
His client, William “Roddie” Bryan, pursued Arbery with Travis and Greg McMichael and recorded video on his cell phone of Travis shooting and killing Arbery with a shotgun at close range.
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Kamala Harris hailed the guilty verdicts on Wednesday for the three men who murdered Ahmaud Arbery in February 2020.
"Ahmaud Arbery should be alive, and nothing can take away the pain that his mother Wanda Cooper-Jones, his father Marcus Arbery, and the entire Arbery family and community feel today. I share in that pain," Harris said in a statement.
"These verdicts send an important message, but the fact remains that we still have work to do. The defense counsel chose to set a tone that cast the attendance of ministers at the trial as intimidation and dehumanized a young Black man with racist tropes. The jury arrived at its verdicts despite these tactics."
President Biden praised the jury's guilty verdict in the trial for Ahmaud Arbery's killers on Wednesday, but called the case "a devastating reminder of how far we have to go in the fight for racial justice in this country."
"Mr. Arbery should be here today, celebrating the holidays with his mother, Wanda Cooper Jones, and his father, Marcus Arbery. Nothing can bring Mr. Arbery back to his family and to his community, but the verdict ensures that those who committed this horrible crime will be punished," Biden said in a statement.
"While the guilty verdicts reflect our justice system doing its job, that alone is not enough. Instead, we must recommit ourselves to building a future of unity and shared strength, where no one fears violence because of the color of their skin."
Arbery family attorney Ben Crump on Wednesday cheered the final verdict in the Ahmaud Arbery murder case.
"Nothing will bring back Ahmaud, but his family will have some peace knowing the men who killed him will remain behind bars and can never inflict their brand of evil on another innocent soul," he tweeted.
He added: "Today certainly indicates progress, but we are nowhere close to the finish line. America, you raised your voices for Ahmaud. Now is not the time to let them quiet. Keep marching. Keep fighting for what is right. And never stop running for Ahmaud."
This combo of booking photos provided by the Glynn County, Ga., Detention Center, shows from left, Travis McMichael, his father Gregory McMichael, and William "Roddie" Bryan Jr. (Glynn County Detention Center via AP)
Jurors in Brunswick, Georgia, on Wednesday found Travis McMichael and his father Greg McMichael guilty on all counts, according to Judge Timothy Walmsley.
Jurors found Travis McMichael guilty of malice murder, four counts of felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault, false imprisonment and criminal attempt to commit a felony.
The jury also found Greg McMichael guilty of four counts of felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault, false imprisonment and criminal attempt to commit a felony. Jurors found him not guilty on charges of malice murder.
Finally, the jury found the McMichaels' neighbor, William "Roddie" Bryan, guilty of felony murder and aggravated assault.
The McMichaels and Bryan were facing nine counts each.
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The jury has concluded deliberations and reached a verdict Wednesday afternoon in the Ahmaud Arbery case, according to sheriff’s deputies.
Business owners not far from the Glynn County Courthouse, where jurors are deliberating a verdict in the Ahmaud Arbery case, on Wednesday told Fox News' Matt Leach they are bracing for any outcome.
Bernie Gendren, owner of Island Jerk, said her store will close its doors if "things...go the way they could go," adding that the case has turned some regulars away in recent weeks.
Caitlin Paret, owner of Beaus & Babes Boutique, does not "think, personally, that anything is going to happen" in terms of destruction or theft.
She continued: "It is affecting business...but that's to be anticipated."
Ahmaud Arbery's aunts, Kimberly Cummings Arbery (right) and Kenya Thomas (left) stand outside the Glynn County Courthouse (Credit: Rebecca Rosenberg)
Kimberly Cummings Arbery, 55, of Townsend, Georgia, on Wednesday told Fox News that her family wants justice.
“It has been torture," she said outside the courthouse. “A piece of my heart left that day.”
She added of the deliberation process: "It surprises me it has taken so long.”
She brought a few gallons of strawberry lemonade Wednesday in honor of her nephew.
“He was crazy about my lemonade," Kenya Thomas, Arbery’s aunt, 46, of McDonough, Georgia, said she was here to support her family. She recalled attending some of her nephew’s high school games.
“He loved that football just like he jogged and ran he tore that football field up,” she said.
Eric Terrell, vice president of the National Action Network, is seen to the left. (Credit: Rebecca Rosenberg)
Eric Terrell, vice president of the National Action Network, a civil rights group, drove from Atlanta to Brunswick, Georgia, on Wednesday morning to be outside the Glynn County courthouse for jury deliberations on the Ahmaud Arbery case.
Terrell, 63, said he’s here to hear the verdict.
“We might get justice and we might not so I pray we get justice,” he said. “The jury has to take their time.”
Al Sharpton and attorney Ben Crump gathered with approximately 100 protesters outside the Glynn County Courthouse on Wednesday morning, according to Fox News' Rebecca Rosenberg.
Crump successfully represented George Floyd's family earlier this year. He has also represented Treyvon Martin and Michael Brown. Sharpton gave a eulogy for Floyd in June of 2020.
Rev. Al Sharpton, Ahmaud Arbery's family and civil rights attorney Ben Crump gather outside the Glynn County Courthouse (Credit: Rebecca Rosenberg)
A 12-person jury on Wednesday asked to replay three versions of the same video three times each and listen to a 911 call from suspect Gregory McMichael, Judge Timothy Walmsley said.
The jury's requests came Wednesday morning as protesters gathered outside the Glynn County Courthouse, awaiting a verdict in the Ahmaud Arbery case.
Michael Harris protests in front of Glenn County Courthouse (Credit: Matt Leach)
Black Lives Matter protesters chanting "shut it down" if there isn't "justice" for Ahmaud Arbery told Fox News they will march peacefully if the men accused of murdering him are not convicted of all charges.
"We just want them to do the right thing," Michael Harris from North Carolina said.
Read more on Fox News here.
Ben Crump holds prayer cirlce (Credit: Fox News' Rebecca Rosenberg)
Arbery family lawyer Ben Crump, who also represented George Floyd's family, held an impromptu prayer circle Wednesday morning as jurors resumed deliberations, according to Fox News' Rebecca Rosenberg.
Civil righst activist Reverand Al Sharpton was also present outside the Glynn County courthouse.
Click here to watch on Fox News.
This combo of booking photos provided by the Glynn County, Ga., Detention Center, shows from left, Travis McMichael, his father Gregory McMichael, and William "Roddie" Bryan Jr. (Glynn County Detention Center via AP)
Jurors in the case of three White men charged with the murder of Ahmaud Arbery are set to begin day two of deliberations Wednesday morning in Georgia.
The jury, comprised of 11 White jurors and one Black juror, reviewed the case for more than six hours Tuesday after closing arguments. Court will resume at 8:30 a.m. EST.
Travis McMichael, his father, Greg, and their neighbor William 'Roddie' Bryan have all been charged with Arbery’s murder.
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Judge Timothy Walmsley speaks during the trial of William "Roddie" Bryan, Travis McMichael and his father Gregory McMichael, all charged with the February 2020 death of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery, Tuesday, Nov. 23, 2021, at the Glynn County Courthouse in Brunswick, Ga. (Octavio Jones/Pool Photo via AP)
Jurors in the trial of the three men charged in the killing of Ahmaud Arbery must decide whether one or all of them is guilty of murder — a conviction that could send them to prison for the rest of their lives.
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