Three suspects in Ahmaud Arbery case indicted on federal hate crime charges

GLYNN COUNTY, Ga. (WTOC) - The three Georgia men charged in the killing of Ahmaud Arbery have now been indicted on federal hate crime charges.

According to the Department of Justice, Travis McMichael, Gregory McMichael and William “Roddie” Bryan were indicted Wednesday, April 28 by a federal grand jury. Counts One and Two of the indictment allege “that the defendants used force and threats of force to intimidate and interfere with Arbery’s right to use a public street because of his race.”

Separately from the hate crime charges, all three were indicted on attempted kidnapping charges. The McMichaels were also indicted on separate counts of using firearms during a crime.

Please click here to read the indictment documents.

All three have been charged in a separate state-level case with malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, false imprisonment and criminal attempt to commit a felony. A trial date has not been set for the state case.

Arbery was killed on Feb. 23, 2020. Three months after Arbery’s death, an attorney leaked the graphic video of Arbery’s killing. The video went viral and drew national attention.

“I would add that this is a bittersweet because Ahmaud lost… a life was lost in this. There was a son that was lost, a brother, but at the same time, Ahmaud’s death will implement change in the state of Georgia,” Arbery’s mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones said.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed the state’s new hate crime bill into law in June of 2020. Again, Tuesday’s indictment is at the federal level.

All three suspects have pleaded not guilty in the state case and have said that they pursued Arbery because they thought he was a burglar.

Copyright 2021 WTOC. All rights reserved.