Demonstrators held signs at a May 8 memorial for Ahmaud Arbery near where he was shot and killed on Feb. 23 in Brunswick, Ga.
Photo: Sean Rayford/Getty ImagesAhmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old black man, was fatally shot outside coastal Brunswick in Glynn County, Ga., on Feb. 23. His family says he was out for a jog when he was pursued and killed. No arrests were made until early May, after a video showing the encounter went viral on social media and sparked a national outcry.
Here’s a who’s who of key players in the case:
Gregory McMichael
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation arrested Gregory McMichael, who is 64 years old and white, on May 7 and charged him with murder and aggravated assault. He is a retired investigator with the local district attorney’s office and a former police department employee. His attorney has said he isn’t guilty and has been subject to a rush to judgment.
According to a police report, Gregory McMichael said Mr. Arbery resembled a suspected burglar. He said he was in his front yard when he spotted Mr. Arbery running. Gregory McMichael said he and his son grabbed their guns because they “didn’t know if the male was armed or not” and pursued Mr. Arbery in their truck. He and his son shouted out to Mr. Arbery, “Stop, stop, we want to talk to you,” and pulled up alongside him.
An undated photo of Ahmaud Arbery, who was 25 years old.
Travis McMichael
Travis McMichael, 34, the son of Gregory McMichael, is seen in the video tussling with Mr. Arbery in the street as a gunshot is heard. Two additional gunshots are fired. Mr. Arbery is seen trying to run, but he then falls to the pavement. An autopsy report said he “died of multiple shotgun wounds sustained during a struggle for the shotgun.” Mr. McMichael’s lawyers have urged the public to withhold judgment until evidence is presented in court.
Less than two weeks before Mr. Arbery’s death, Travis McMichael dialed 911 to report someone he deemed suspicious while driving past a house under construction in his neighborhood.
William Bryan Jr.
William Bryan Jr., 50, recorded the Feb. 23 encounter. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation arrested him Thursday on charges of felony murder and criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment, according to a news release. He was booked into the Glynn County jail. His attorney, Kevin Gough, said Mr. Bryan “has committed no crime and bears no criminal responsibility.”
Mr. Arbery’s family and civil-rights activists have pressed for weeks for authorities to charge Mr. Bryan, arguing he wasn’t simply a witness but was involved in the young man’s killing. One of the Arbery family lawyers said the video shows Mr. Arbery being chased for over four minutes by the McMichaels and Mr. Bryan.
Wanda Cooper-Jones, right, the mother of Ahmaud Arbery, wept while people gathered to honor her son at Sidney Lanier Park in Brunswick on May 9.
Photo: Sean Rayford/Getty ImagesIn an April letter to the Glynn County Police Department, George Barnhill, the district attorney in Waycross who oversaw the case for a period before recusing himself, wrote that Mr. Bryan was in “hot pursuit” of Mr. Arbery along with the McMichaels in the moments leading up to the shooting. Mr. Bryan is also named as a witness in a police report.
Larry English
The owner of a house that is under construction in the neighborhood, Mr. English has released several surveillance videos through a lawyer that show multiple people trespassing on the property over the course of a few months. One of the videos shows Mr. Arbery briefly walking onto the construction site on the day of his death. Mr. English has said nothing was taken from his property and criticized the McMichaels for what he characterized as “a vigilante response” in the killing of Mr. Arbery. Mr. English’s lawyer, J. Elizabeth Graddy, confirmed a Glynn County police officer had texted the homeowner in December to say that Gregory McMichael was willing to help deal with trespassers caught on security cameras.
Glynn County Police Department
Some officials and residents are now calling for the department to be shut down and for the Glynn County Sheriff’s Office to take over. The department was faulted for a culture of coverup and abuse of power by a Glynn County grand jury investigation last year, and Police Chief John Powell and three other current and former officers were indicted this year over alleged wrongdoing in a narcotics unit. An attorney for the police chief has said he is innocent, and attorneys for the others couldn’t be reached. In 2018, the department lost its certifications with the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police and the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement—voluntary programs that provide standards around police training and professional development.
A spokesman for the department has said it isn’t issuing any statements regarding the Arbery case.
District Attorney Joyette Holmes of the Cobb County Judicial Circuit, the new prosecutor in the case, at a press conference in Decatur, Ga., on Friday.
Photo: branden camp/epa/ShutterstockCurrent Prosecutor
Georgia Attorney General Christopher Carr appointed Joyette Holmes, the district attorney of the Cobb County Judicial Circuit and the first black woman to serve in that position, to take over the case on May 11. The matter had made its way through three prior prosecutors in 2 1/2 months without any arrests or charges. Mr. Carr said at the time that Ms. Holmes’s office “has the resources, personnel and experience to lead this prosecution and ensure justice is done.”
Former Prosecutors
Mr. Barnhill was the second prosecutor on the case, after Brunswick prosecutor Jackie Johnson recused herself because Gregory McMichael had worked as an investigator in her office. Mr. Barnhill recused himself because his son had worked in the same office from which Gregory McMichael retired. A few days earlier, he wrote a letter to the Glynn County Police Department arguing that Mr. Arbery initiated the fight with Travis McMichael and that the shooting was therefore justified under Georgia’s self-defense law.
The case was then assigned to prosecutor Tom Durden on April 13. On May 5, he asked the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to conduct an inquiry into Mr. Arbery’s death.
Georgia Bureau of Investigation
The GBI opened its own probe of the Arbery case on May 6, promising a “thorough and fair” investigation. A spokeswoman has declined to comment, citing the continuing investigation.
U.S. Justice Department
This week, a bipartisan group of Georgia’s congressional delegation signed a letter to U.S. Attorney General William Barr asking the Justice Department to help investigate the case. A spokesman said the department had received the letter and was reviewing the matter. Last week, the department said it was assessing the evidence in the case to determine whether federal hate-crime charges are appropriate. Georgia is one of very few states that doesn’t have a hate-crime law.
Related Articles
- Two Men Arrested and Charged in Killing of Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia
- Georgia Investigates Person Who Filmed Ahmaud Arbery Shooting
- Ahmaud Arbery Shooting Spurs Calls to Disband Police Force
- New Video Shows Police Tried to Tase Ahmaud Arbery in 2017
- Ahmaud Arbery Shooting Puts Fresh Scrutiny on Use of Citizen’s Arrest
Write to Arian Campo-Flores at arian.campo-flores@wsj.com
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