Three men found guilty of murdering black jogger in Georgia
Three white men who chased and shot a black man in Georgia last February have been convicted of his murder.
Ahmaud Arbery, 25, was pursued and cornered by Travis McMichael, 35, his father Gregory McMichael, 65, and their neighbour William ‘Roddie’ Bryan, 52, on 23 February 2020 in Satilla Shores just outside the city of Brunswick.
Mr Arbery was then shot by Travis McMichael.
A woman raises a fist as she reacts outside the courthouse in Georgia
All three defendants had pleaded not guilty to nine charges each including murder, aggravated assault and false imprisonment for the killing of Mr Arbery who was out running.
As the first of the verdicts was read out in court, one of Mr Arbery’s family members screamed with relief.
He was removed from the court before the remaining verdicts were read out by the judge one by one for each of the three men.
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Moment all three Arbery defendants found guilty
Mr Arbery’s murder was caught on video which had been filmed by the third defendant, Mr Bryan.
He was seen being chased by the three men in two vehicles. After being pursued for about five minutes, Mr Arbery was cornered by the vehicles. He was then shot with a 12 bore shotgun held by Travis McMichael.
Defendant Travis McMichael shot Mr Arbery, after he, his father and a neighbour had followed him
The jury had been presented with two different accounts of what had happened. The defence lawyers had argued that their clients had pursued Mr Arbery because they’d seen him entering a house under construction without permission.
It had been argued that he was not a jogger but a burglar. The three defendants had claimed that they had tried to carry out a citizen’s arrest and that Travis McMichael had only opened fire in self-defence after Mr Arbery violently resisted.
“Ahmaud Arbery was not an innocent victim,” the defence attorney had argued.
But the prosecution rejected this account, saying that the men had “penned him in like a rat” and that they had no cause to chase him when he was running through their neighbourhood.
It was argued successfully that citizens arrests require immediate knowledge of a crime. Trespass is a misdemeanour, not a felony and no evidence was ever presented to show that Mr Arbery had stolen anything.
Mr Arbery’s family lawyers said that the three men who chased and killed him were a “posse who performed a modern lynching in the middle of the day”.
At the time of the murder, then-President Donald Trump had commented on the case saying: “My heart goes out to the parents and the loved ones of the young man.”
President Joe Biden had said that “the video is clear: Ahmaud Arbery was killed in cold blood.”
At the time, the police did not arrest the three men and no charges were brought. They were only arrested months later.
Defense attorney Laura Hogue speaks to her client Greg McMichael
All three men faced 27 charges including malice murder (intentional murder), felony murder, aggravated assault, false imprisonment and a criminal attempt to commit a felony.
Travis McMichael, who fired the weapon, was found guilty of all charges – one count ‘malice murder’, four counts of felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault, one count of false imprisonment and one count of a criminal attempt to commit a felony.
His father, Gregory McMichael was found not guilty of the malice murder charge but guilty of all the other charges.
Their neighbour, William ‘Roddie’ Bryan, who was in a separate car in pursuit of Mr Arbury, was found not guilty of the malice murder charge, not guilty of one of the felony murder charges and not guilty of one of the aggravated assault charges but guilty of all remaining charges.
William ‘Roddie’ Bryan was a neighbour who joined the chase. Pic: AP
Outside court, referring to the jury, civil rights activist, Rev Al Sharpton said: “A jury of eleven whites in court said that black lives DO matter… All whites are not racist and all blacks are not worthless.”
Following the guilty verdicts, Mr Biden said: “Ahmaud Arbery’s killing – witnessed by the world on video – is a devastating reminder of how far we have to go in the fight for racial justice in this country.
“Mr Arbery should be here today, celebrating the holidays with his mother, Wanda Cooper Jones, and his father, Marcus Arbery.
Wanda Cooper-Jones, mother of Ahmaud Arbery, arrives to the Glynn County Courthouse
“Nothing can bring Mr Arbery back to his family and to his community, but the verdict ensures that those who committed this horrible crime will be punished.
“While the guilty verdicts reflect our justice system doing its job, that alone is not enough. Instead, we must recommit ourselves to building a future of unity and shared strength, where no one fears violence because of the colour of their skin.
“My administration will continue to do the hard work to ensure that equal justice under law is not just a phrase emblazoned in stone above the Supreme Court, but a reality for all Americans.
Donald Trump described the hush money case against him as a “mess” after the jury who will decide his fate has been selected.
Leaving the court in New York after proceedings were adjourned for the day, Trump addressed reporters, saying he was supposed to be in states like Georgia, New Hampshire and North Carolina as part of his campaign for the 2024 presidential election.
“[But instead] I’ve been here all day,” he said, labelling the trial as “unfair”.
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Trump held up a stack of news stories and editorials that he said were critical of the case while he continued railing against the trial.
“The whole thing is a mess,” he said.
It comes as all 12 jurors have been seated in the first criminal case against a former US president.
Pic: AP
Members of the jury include a sales professional, a software engineer, an English teacher and multiple lawyers.
Sky News’ US partner network, NBC News reported there are seven men and five women on the jury.
It comes after lawyers grilled hundreds of potential jurors asking questions on everything from their hobbies and social media posts to their opinion of the former president.
More than half of a second group of prospective jurors were dismissed by Judge Juan Merchan on Thursday after most said they doubted their ability to be fair and impartial.
One juror was also dismissed after she said she “slept on it overnight” and woke up with concerns about her ability to be fair and impartial in the case.
The challenge now is to select six alternate jury members before the trial can move to opening statements, with Mr Merchan hopeful this will be completed on Friday.
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Trump is accused of criminally altering business records to cover up a $130,000 (£104,200) payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, real name Stephanie Clifford, during his 2016 election campaign.
Ms Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who was paid $150,000 (£120,000), both claim to have had affairs with Trump.
Stormy Daniels. Pic: AP
His lawyers say the payment was meant to spare himself and his family embarrassment, not to help him win the election.
Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. He could get up to four years in prison if convicted.
The former president faces two other criminal trials accusing him of trying to subvert his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden, and another that accuses him of mishandling classified information after he left the White House in 2021.
He has pleaded not guilty to all charges against him.
Crisis-hit Boeing has rushed to defend itself from fresh whistleblower allegations of poor practice, as the airline continues to grapple its latest safety crisis.
A Congressional investigation heard evidence on Wednesday on the safety culture and manufacturing standards at the company – rocked in January by a mid-air scare that saw an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 flight suffer a panel blowout.
One Boeing quality engineer, Sam Salehpour, told members of a Senate subcommittee that Boeing was taking shortcuts to bolster production levels that could lead to jetliners breaking apart.
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He said of Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner, that has more than 1,000 in use across airlines globally including at British Airways, that excessive force was used to jam together sections of fuselage.
He claimed the extra force could compromise the carbon-composite material used for the plane’s frame.
“They are putting out defective airplanes,” he concluded, while adding that he was threatened when he raised concerns about the issue.
Boeing quality engineer Sam Salehpour testifies during the Senate homeland security subcommittee hearing. Pic: AP
The engineer said he studied Boeing’s own data and concluded “that the company is taking manufacturing shortcuts on the 787 programme that could significantly reduce the airplane’s safety and the life cycle”.
Boeing denied his claims surrounding both the Dreamliner’s structural integrity and that factory workers jumped on sections of fuselage to force them to align.
Two Boeing engineering executives said this week that its testing and inspections regimes have found no signs of fatigue or cracking in the composite panels, saying they were almost impervious to fatigue.
The company’s track record is facing fresh scrutiny amid criticism from regulators and safety officials alike in the wake of the incident aboard the Alaska Airlines plane.
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What’s going on at Boeing?
It has become a trust issue again after the worst period in Boeing’s history when two fatal crashes, both involving MAX 8 aircraft, left 346 people dead in 2018 and 2019.
All 737 MAX 8 planes were grounded for almost two years while a fix to flawed flight control software was implemented.
A separate Senate commerce committee heard on Wednesday from members of an expert panel that found serious flaws in Boeing’s safety culture.
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Boeing CEO: ‘We fly safe planes’
One of the panel members, MIT aeronautics lecturer Javier de Luis, said employees hear Boeing leadership talk about safety, but workers feel pressure to push planes through the factory as fast as they can.
In talking to Boeing workers, he said he heard “there was a very real fear of payback and retribution if you held your ground”.
Pressure on Boeing to focus on safety has included restrictions placed on production, limiting its manufacturing output.
At the same time, it is still facing three separate investigations by the Federal Aviation Administration, the Justice Department and the National Transportation Safety Board relating to the panel blowout.
A management shake-up announced amid the inquiries will see the chief executive depart the company by the year’s end.
Sky News has approached British Airways for comment.
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