?A long fight?: relief across the US as men convicted of murdering Ahmaud Arbery

Relief, emotion and a sense of hope came flooding out in Brunswick, on social media, from the White House and across the US as the nation came to terms with the Ahmaud Arbery verdicts and their place in history.

Outside the Georgia courthouse, a joyous, flag-waving crowd repeatedly chanted: "Ahmaud Arbery! Say his name!" as the Arbery family, surrounded by their attorneys, emerged to address them.

"It's been a long fight, it's been a hard fight," said Arbery's mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones.

Cooper-Jones said her son "will now rest in peace".

Arbery's father, Marcus Arbery, thanked his son's mother, and the activists and lawyers who helped draw attention to his son's case.

Ben Crump, the civil rights attorney representing the Arbery family, said although the outcome of the case was welcome, Ahmaud Arbery's parents were still grieving their son.

"Even though this is not a celebration, it's a reflection. The spirit of Ahmaud defeated the lynch mob," he told the courthouse crowd.