Gregory McMichael and his son, Travis McMichael, have been arrested on murder charges in connection with the fatal shooting of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation confirmed Thursday.
Gregory & Travis McMichael have been arrested for the murder of Ahmaud Arbery. There will be a press conference tomorrow morning at 9 AM in Brunswick, GA (1 Conservation Way). https://t.co/jBhe4eIpeW pic.twitter.com/PEsOdnyXdR— GA Bureau of Invest (@GBI_GA) May 8, 2020
They were both charged with murder and aggravated assault. The McMichaels were taken into custody and will be booked into the Glynn County Jail.
Abery’s aunt, Thea Brooks, told GPB News the community is celebrating the arrests, but the case is far from over.
“This is only the beginning," she said. "We still gotta wait for the conviction. This is just the start.”
Gov. Brian Kemp tweeted applauding the arrests and said “Justice will be served.”
Earlier this week, cellphone video was leaked by attorney Alan Tucker. He told GPB News in an email that he didn't release the Feb. 23 cellphone video to exonerate the McMichaels, and Tucker did not say how he obtained the video.
"There had been very little information provided by the police department or the district attorney’s office, but there was entirely too much speculation, rumor, false narratives, and outright lies surrounding this event," Tucker wrote in the email.
An unidentified witness filmed Arbery apparently being pursued by the McMichaels in a white pickup truck. In the video, the elder McMichael is seen in the bed of the truck holding a handgun, while Arbery wrestles with 34-year-old Travis McMichael, who is holding a shotgun.
Three shots are heard before Arbery falls to the ground, never to recover.
Atlantic Judicial Circuit DA Tom Durden is now handling the case, after two district attorneys recused themselves.
The GBI assigned the case to three supervisory-level investigators on Wednesday, May 6.
"Travis, the guy is running down the street let's go," Gregory McMichael said in the police report.PREVIOUS COVERAGE:
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Gregory McMichael saw Arbery and shouted, "Stop, stop, we want to talk to you," according to the report. He then shouted "Stop" again, and Travis got out of the truck with a shotgun.
Arbery "began to violently attack" him and "the two men then started fighting over the shotgun," the report said.
Travis McMichael fired two shots, his father told police.
They said they were acting in self-defense.
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