Ahmaud Arbery Family Brace for New Trial Focusing on Racial Justice
The family of slain jogger Ahmaud Arbery believes that the issues of race soon to be raised in the new federal hate crimes trial of the three men convicted of murdering him may have an impact beyond the courtroom.
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The family of Ahmaud Arbery believes that the issues of race soon to be raised in the new federal hate crimes trial of the three men convicted of murdering him may have an impact beyond the courtroom, reports Reuters. Gregory McMichael, a former police officer, his son Travis McMichael,and William “Roddie” Bryan, are each charged with interference with rights, a hate crime which carries a maximum of life in prison, as well as attempted kidnapping and gun violations.
In pre-trial hearings state prosecutors had reserved the option to introduce evidence of racial animus, including Travis McMichael’s vanity license plate featuring the flag flown by the southern pro-slavery Confederacy during the 1861-1865 Civil Warm, viewed by some today as a symbol of white supremacism and by others a reminder of their Southern heritage. In an arraignment hearing in 2020, Special Agent Richard Dial of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said Bryan told his office that Travis McMichael uttered a racial slur as Arbery lay dying and that he had evidence from social media and elsewhere that Travis McMichael had used racial slurs in the past. It is not clear whether the vanity plate or Dial’s evidence will be featured in the new trial. All three men have pleaded not guilty to all charges.
