Ahmaud Arbery’s murderers found guilty of federal hate crimes

The three men convicted of murdering Ahmaud Arbery were found guilty of federal hate crimes on Tuesday, for violating Arbery's civil rights and targeting him because he was Black.

A jury of eight white people, three Black people and one Hispanic person, reached its decision after several hours of deliberation on the charges against father and son Greg and Travis McMichael and neighbor William "Roddie" Bryan.

The jury also found the three men guilty of attempted kidnapping. The McMichaels were found guilty of the use of a firearm in the commission of a crime.

The US district judge, Lisa Wood, told the men they have two weeks to file any appeal. She also said she would schedule sentencing once pre-sentencing reports were filed.

Wood praised attorneys from both sides, saying prosecutors had the "difficult task" of proving the "racial motivation of hate crimes", which they did in a "skillful [and] professional manner". The defense attorneys, she said, represented their clients "zealously" but "did not volunteer" to represent them, having been appointed.

"No one need wonder whether they got a fair trial - they did," Wood said.

Outside court on Monday, Arbery's mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, said: "I think the DoJ [Department of Justice] presented its case well."

During the trial, prosecutors showed about two-dozen text messages and social media posts in which Travis McMichael and Bryan used racist slurs and made derogatory comments about Black people. The FBI was not able to access Greg McMichael's phone because it was encrypted.

The McMichaels grabbed guns and jumped in a truck to pursue Arbery after seeing him running in their neighborhood outside the Georgia port city of Brunswick in February 2020.

Bryan joined the pursuit and recorded cellphone video of Travis McMichael fatally shooting Arbery. The killing became part of a larger national reckoning on racial injustice after the graphic video leaked online.

"There's a big difference between being vigilant and being a vigilante," said Christopher Perras, a special litigation counsel for the DoJ civil rights division, in closing arguments on Monday.

He told the jury: "It's important for you to understand the full depth of the defendants' racial hatred."

Defense attorneys contended the three men didn't chase and kill Arbery because of his race but acted on the earnest though erroneous suspicion that he had committed crimes in their neighborhood.

The defendants' reactions to Arbery's death were further evidence of their racial animus, said Perras, who noted that none tried to help Arbery after he was shot.

Instead, Perras said, Gregory McMichael spoke to police "like a man who just came back from a hunting trip and wanted to talk about the thrill of the hunt".

The McMichaels and Bryant saw Arbery as an animal "and they treated him like an animal", Perras said.

Some witnesses testified that they had heard the McMichaels' racist statements firsthand.

A woman who served under Travis McMichael in the US coast guard a decade ago said he made crude sexual jokes after learning she dated a Black man.

Another woman testified Gregory McMichael ranted angrily in 2015 when she remarked on the death of the civil rights activist Julian Bond. Defense attorneys did not dispute any of those statements.

On Tuesday, the civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who represented Arbery's family, said: "Today, after much sorrow, grief, and pain, Ahmaud's family can finally put this chapter behind them. For the last 24 months, they've dedicated themselves to getting justice for their son.

"For many of us, there was never any doubt that Greg McMichael, Travis McMichael, and William Bryan targeted Ahmaud because of his skin color. But because of indisputable video evidence, disgusting messages sent by the defendants and witness testimony, their hate was revealed to the world and the jury. We hope and demand that the severity of their crimes are reflected in the sentencing, as well."

Crump added: "Ahmaud Arbery was denied the opportunity to define his own legacy, but America, we have the power to ensure that it is one that propels our fight for equal justice and dispels hate from this world. That is how we continue to honor Ahmaud and make sure his death was not in vain."

The verdict was also a win for the DoJ, which has pledged to more thoroughly investigate and prosecute hate crimes. Last October, the DoJ announced that its Office of Justice Programs will dedicate $21m to hate crime investigations and prosecutions.

The verdict comes a day before the second anniversary of Arbery's death. In Georgia, 23 February has officially been declared Ahmaud Arbery Day.