Bond denied for father and son accused of killing Ahmaud Arbery
A judge has denied bond to the Georgia father and son charged in the killing of Ahmaud Arbery after an unusually long hearing that stretched into a second day on Friday.
Travis McMichael and his father Gregory McMichael, who are White, are charged with counts including malice murder and felony murder in the Feb. 23 shooting of the Black man as he jogged near the coastal town of Brunswick. The killing, captured on a disturbing cellphone video, drew a national outcry.
Gregory McMichael, 65, and Travis McMichael, 34, told police they chased Arbery because they thought he was a burglary suspect and acted in self-defense during a confrontation. Two and a half months passed before the McMichaels were charged, shortly after the state began investigating and the video became public. The man who filmed the video, William "Roddie" Bryan, is also charged in the case.
Prosecutors played the video in court, and the judge said it demonstrated that the father and son are a danger to the community. Arbery's mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, told reporters after the hearing it was the first time she had seen the video.
"Ahmaud had no idea that he was under attack," Cooper-Jones said of her son, who was 25.
Cooper-Jones believes her son was killed because of his race. A state investigator testified at a previous hearing that Bryan said he heard Travis McMichael using a racial slur as Arbery lay dying. Prosecutors during the hearing this week introduced evidence including text messages and Facebook posts in an attempt to show the defendants harbored racist beliefs, while defense attorneys pointed to a parade of witnesses who spoke in support of the father and son.
While motive typically isn't discussed at bond hearings, Cobb County Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney Jesse Evans said the possibility of the Department of Justice issuing a federal hate crime indictment could factor into the likelihood of the defendants attempting to flee before trial. The Department of Justice has said they are assessing evidence in the case to determine whether a federal hate crime investigation is warranted. While Georgia's Legislature passed a hate crimes bill into law in June, following a push by activists who cited Arbery's case, the state statute is not retroactive.
Evans also argued that Gregory McMichael used his position as a former law enforcement officer to try and influence the investigation.
Attorneys for Travis McMichael called his longtime friend Zachary Langford to the stand, who described the younger McMichael as a trustworthy person who treated everyone with respect, no matter their race. But Evans showed a text message Travis McMichael sent Langford using a slur for Black people and talking about shooting a "crackhead ... with gold teeth." Evans said Langford responded with a text about Newport cigarettes. Langford initially said he didn't remember the text exchange, and later said McMichael was being facetious.
Bob Rubin, a lawyer for Travis McMichael, acknowledged "private offensive messages" but said McMichael's previous good behavior including his service in the Coast Guard proves he is a law-abiding citizen. Rubin said the younger McMichael would never flee because he had a four-year-old son who means the "world" to him.
Attorneys for the McMichaels said the father and son believed Arbery was the burglary suspect who had been stealing items from the neighborhood in the months prior to the shooting, leaving the community "on edge." Defense attorney Laura Hogue said Greg McMichael "was authorized to protect his neighborhood against crime the way he did." She argued the case was not about race, but about self-defense, saying Arbery attacked Travis McMichael.
Hogue suggested the state may have approached the case differently had Arbery been White.
"The state says race and racism is what should make you afraid to release Greg McMichael on bond," Hogue said. "I don't mean this to sound flippant, your Honor, but to hear the state talk about this case you would think the race of Ahmaud Arbery is the only thing that makes the state of Georgia concerned about the serious event on Feb. 23."
Cooper-Jones gave an emotional statement before the court on Thursday, asking the judge not to allow the defendants to go home before trial.
"Ahmaud wasn't allowed to go home," Cooper-Jones said. "Ahmaud wasn't even allowed the chance to live. He was denied all of that."
Speaking after the ruling, family attorney Lee Merritt said the case is not about self-defense but about the McMichaels' decision to "hunt and kill an unarmed non-violent Black man."
"They created the danger and used it as a justification for murder," Merritt said. He said the family is grateful for the ruling and feels they are one step closer to justice.
