Court Rejects “Not Racism Actually” Defense From Men Who Chased and Killed Ahmaud Arbery
A federal appeals court voted to uphold the hate crime convictions of three white men who were responsible for the murder of Ahmaud Arbery.
Announced earlier this week, the ruling, written out by Judge Elizabeth L. Branch, comes a year after deliberation and almost two years after the initial convictions of Greg McMichael, Travis McMichael and William “Roddie” Bryan. Attorneys for the defendants previously filed a motion in March 2024, asking the federal judges of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn the earlier ruling.
Lawyers for Greg McMichael and Bryan had asked for the judges to look into the case again because they argued that the series of racist text messages and social media posts exchanged between the murderers did not prove that they went after Arbery due to racism. The three men were convicted after federal prosecutors brought forth evidence that they went after the 25-year-old due to “pent-up racial anger.”
Bryan’s lawyer attempted to argue that his client assisted in murdering Arbery because he had mistakenly believed he was a criminal. The 11th Circuit judge threw out the arguments, pointing out that Arbery had no criminal record in the neighborhood and was not in possession of any stolen property or weapons.
Travis McMichael’s lawyer, meanwhile, did not deny that her client had acted on account of racism, choosing instead to argue that the Satilla Shores were not public roads as they were declared in the indictment. The judge also rejected this argument.
With their sentences, the three men are serving life terms after convictions from the Georgia state court; therefore, even if the hate crime convictions were overturned, they would still be imprisoned.
On Feb. 23, 2020, the McMichaels both picked up guns and pursued Arbery in a pickup as he ran past their house. Bryan, who was their neighbor, assisted, following the father and his son in a pickup and recording footage of Travis McMichael shooting Arbery. The 25-year-old was shot a total of three times- two of which were in the chest- and was eventually declared dead at the hospital early the next morning.
Following Arbery’s murder, no arrests were made for over two months. Charges were filed only after Bryan's footage leaked online and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation took over the case.
National outrage followed the video's release on May 5th. At the height of the pandemic, the video circulated online, prompting protests across Georgia and Satilla Shores to demand justice for Arbery.
With their convictions, both of the McMichaels are set to spend life in prison, while Bryan received a 35-year sentence because he did not have a weapon on him.