Cops FINALLY arrest Georgia father and Son, Gregory and Travis McMichael for the MURDER of unarmed black jogger Ahmaud Arbery, 25, following public outcry as video of his fatal shooting went viral and his family called killing a ‘lynching’
Self-styled vigilante duo of Gregory McMichael, 64, and Travis McMichael, 34, were arrested at their home in Brunswick, Georgia, on Thursday
Heavily-armed officers with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation descended on the home at around 7.50pm
The pair shot and killed unarmed black jogger Ahmaud Arbery, 25, after his family on April 23 in Brunswick, Georgia
They were arrested on murder charges after two prosecutors in different counties had refused to bring charges – They upheld the claim by father and son that they thought Arbery was a burglar
The case escalated after public outcry when a viral video of his fatal shooting was published, making headlines nationwide – Arbery’s family described his killing as a ‘lynching’, demanding justice
The footage showed the two men ‘ambushing’ Arbery as he tried to run past their pickup truck, with the younger McMichael striding towards the jogger, shotgun held in his right hand
Travis McMichael got into a physical fight with Arbery before shooting him with a shotgun at close range, three times
Gregory and Travis McMichael were led out of their home in handcuffs and booked into Glynn County Jail on charges of murder and aggravated assault on Thursday night
In a new twist, the GBI said it was also investigating threats made towards its officers and people involved in the investigation
Gregory McMichael [right] and his son Travis McMichael were arrested at their home in Brunswick, Georgia, on Thursday for the wanton murder of Ahmaud Arbery who they chased down and executed at close range in broad day light
The dramatic arrests come days after leaked cellphone video of the McMichaels’ fatal confrontation with Arbery on February 23 made headlines nationwide, sparking fevered outrage and demands for justice.
GRAPHIC: Shocking moment black jogger is shot dead by two armed white men who chased him down in a pickup truck!
Reported triggerman 34-year-old Travis McMichael is marched out of the home in handcuffs by an officer with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation
The father and son were initially not arrested after they told police they were compelled to act because they believed Arbery was a burglar after a spate of thefts in their area. When they tried to stop him in a bid to make a citizen’s arrest, the victim attacked them before the shot him in self defense.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation took over the investigation on Tuesday after the video emerged.
On Thursday a dozen agents from the bureaus equipped with bulletproof vests and assault rifles descended on the McMichaels’ two-bedroom property in suburban Brunswick to execute arrest warrants and took the pair into custody.
The men were booked into Glynn County Jail on charges of murder and aggravated assault.
![George and Travis McMichael [left], killed Ahmaud Arbery [right] 1](https://i0.wp.com/konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/George-and-Travis-McMichael-left-killed-Ahmaud-Arbery-right-1.jpg?resize=620%2C418&ssl=1)
Father and son ‘vigilate duo’ of Gregory and Travis McMichael [left] were booked on charges of murder and aggravated assault for the shooting death of unarmed jogger Ahmaud Arbery [right] on Thursday
Wearing a scruffy black shirt, cap and jeans the Gregory McMichael stared straight ahead as he was placed in a police car.
34-old Travis, wearing a checked shirt, cap and jeans was marched out moments later , wearing dark sunshades as he was led to a vehicle in handcuffs.
The agents were at the house for about ten minutes before the left as abruptly as they had arrived.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation released a statement shortly after the swoops saying the two men were arrested on suspicion of murder and aggravated assault.
And in a fresh twist, the agency said it was also investigating threats made towards its officers and people involved in the investigation.
The four-vehicle convoy bearing agents from the GBI pulled up outside the home of Gregory and Travis McMichael in Brunswick, Ga., just before 8pm Thursday to execute the arrest warrants
First to be taken into custody was ex-cop Gregory McMichael, 64, in handcuffs
Moments later his son Travis McMichael, 34, emerged , wearing a checked shirt, cap and jeans to be marched into a waiting vehicle. Travis reportedly, blasted Arbery with a shotgun at close range, several times
10 minutes after a swarm of GBI officers arrived at the McMichael’s home in Brunswick on Thursday, the arrest warrants had been executed, the suspects cuffed and transported away
The case: In this stills from the footage released by a neighbor, Travis McMicheal armed with a shot gun strides towards Arbery. A shot can be heard as the two appear to scuffle. Two more shots can be heard, all fired at point-blank range before
Ahmaud Arbery is shot dead in the street in Brunswick, Georgia on February 23 by
Gregory and Travis McMichael had gone after him in their truck armed with a handgun and a shotgun to chase him because they ‘thought he was a burglar’.
The pair drove past the jogger, stopped and Travis got out of the car.
As per Gregory McMichael’s account, they told Arbery that they wanted to talk to him, but he attacked Travis. A struggle ensued and Travis fired his gun twice, killing Ahmaud.
In late February – First prosecutor assigned to the case, Jackie Johnson, the Brunswick District Attorney, recused herself from the case because Gregory used to work in her office as an investigator.
Furthermore the by mid-April George Barnhill, the second prosecutor assigned the case – in another county, caused more consternation for the victim’s family when he announced he won’i be pressing charges, then recused himself
Barnhill initially said he did not think the case merited charges because the McMichaels were acting lawfully by trying to carry out a citizen’s arrest, which is legal in Georgia.
He also said that the video ‘shows’ Arbery reaching for Travis’ gun.
The first shot is fired however when the pair are out of frame.
When the camera panned back to them, they were struggling again to the side of the vehicle.
‘Much Love’: A pile of flowers and other mementos mark a mashift memorial at the spot where 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery was killed, on Thursday night
Barnhill said Travis was standing his ground by firing three shots which hit Arbery.
He later had to recuse himself after it emerged that his son works in the Brunswick District Attorney’s Office, where Gregory served as an investigator for 20 years.
Current prosecutor Tom Durden was assigned the case on May 5.
He has said that his office would approach it without prior prejudice.
Earlier in the week he announced that he would not make a decision on whether or not to charge, and that he wants to convene a grand jury to take it on.
Keep to his statement two days later, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation announced that it was bringing charges of murder and aggravated assault against the Gregory and Travis on May 7.
Arbery’s mother, Wanda Cooper Jones, has said she believes her son, a former football player, was just jogging in the Satilla Shores neighborhood before he was killed on a Sunday afternoon.
Gregory McMichael told police he suspected the runner was the same man filmed by a security camera committing a break-in. He and his grown son, Travis McMichael, grabbed guns and began a pursuit in the truck.
The video shows a black man running at a jogging pace on the left side of a road. A truck is parked in the road ahead of him. One of the white men is inside the pickup’s bed. The other is standing beside the open driver’s side door.
The runner crosses the road to pass the pickup on the passenger side, then crosses back in front of the truck.
A gunshot sounds, and the video shows the runner grappling with a man in the street over what appears to be a shotgun or rifle.
A second shot can be heard, and the runner can be seen punching the man.
A third shot is fired at point-blank range.
The runner staggers a few feet and falls face down.
Brunswick defense attorney Alan Tucker identified himself Thursday as the person who shared the video with the radio station.
In a statement, Tucker said he does not currently represent anyone involved in the case. He said he released the video ‘because my community was being ripped apart by erroneous accusations and assumptions.’
The outcry over the killing reached the White House, where President Donald Trump offered condolences Thursday to Arbery’s family.
‘It’s a very sad thing,’ Trump said in the Oval Office, ‘but I will be given a full report this evening.’
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has called Arbery´s death a ‘murder.’ During an online roundtable Thursday, Biden compared the video to seeing Arbery ‘lynched before our very eyes.’
After Glynn County District Attorney Jackie Johnson recused herself from the case because Gregory McMichael worked as an investigator in her office. He retired last year.
George Barnhill, the second prosecutor to be given the case who preemptively vindicated the McMichaels by declaring in his report that the unarmed victim, Ahmaud Arbery ‘initiated’ and reached for the gun.
George Barnhill report on the shooting of Ahmaud Arbery
In an April 2 letter to the Glynn County Police Department Barn states that Gregory McMichael nor his son deserved to be charged because they were firstly lawful in pursuing Arbery with their guns and then in shooting him.
He made the case that they were trying to make a citizen’s arrest by chasing Arbery and that they had ‘solid probable cause for it’, claiming Arbery was a burglary suspect.
It should be noted that McMichael Sr. had been a member of Glynn County PD for seven years and making the citizen’s arrest is legal in Georgia.
Around a dozen GBI officers equipped with bulletproof vests and assault rifles descended on the McMichaels’ two-bedroom property in suburban Brunswick to execute arrest warrants on Thursday evening
The pair intended to subdue Arbery until police arrived but that Arbery ‘initiated’ a fight by grabbing for Travis McMichael’s gun, the older McMichael claimed, there by justifying the use of lethal force by his son – ‘lawful’ is the word he used, because he thinks it constitutes a stand your ground killing, adding that Travis McMichael feared for his life so did not break the law by using deadly force.The start of their fight happens out of the Barnhill concludes that Arbery’s wounds – namely the first of three which was in his right palm – showed he had reached for the gun.
He reinforces his conclusion with the claim that Arbery had a ‘history of mental health and prior convictions’.
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