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.
US
California: 21 children taken into custody – amid claims couple misled surrogate mothers across the US
Police have taken 21 children into custody, amid allegations that a couple in Los Angeles may have misled surrogate mothers across the US.
Silvia Zhang, 38, and Guojun Xuan, 65, are believed to be the legal parents of the children, who are aged between two months and 13 years old.
“We believe one or two were born biologically to the mother,” Lieutenant Kollin Cieadlo said. “There are some surrogates who have come forward and said they were surrogates for the children.”
“The couple told police that they wanted a large family,” he added.
The home of Silva Zhang and Guojun Xuan, northeast of downtown Los Angeles
Fifteen children were removed from the couple’s home in Arcadia, about 13 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles, after an abuse allegation was made. Another six living in the care of family and friends were also located.
The couple were arrested in May after a hospital reported that their two-month-old infant had a traumatic head injury – with a nanny accused of violently shaking the baby.
The infant was not taken to hospital until two days later, after they began suffering seizures.
CCTV footage recorded inside the home showed the children being emotionally and physically abused by at least six nannies.
The couple’s property had CCTV cameras, which police said recorded footage of abuse by nannies. Pic: AP
Lt Cieadlo said Zhang had produced what appeared to be legitimate birth certificates, including some from outside California, that list her as the mother of the children.
Business records show a company called Mark Surrogacy Investment LLC was previously registered at the couple’s address, although the most recent documents show the business licence ended in June.
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Police said they are investigating whether the children found at the home in the San Gabriel Valley were part of a surrogacy scam.
Lt Cieadlo also confirmed officers were working with the FBI as part of their investigation.
Kayla Elliott, one of the surrogate mothers who has come forward, told Sky’s US partner NBC News: “I was a bit hysterical. You just don’t expect that you’re going to go through a pregnancy and a delivery and then hand the baby over to their parents and then all of a sudden find out that there was abuse and neglect going on.”
Arrest warrants were issued for Zhang, Xuan and the 56-year-old nanny, who was not in custody on Wednesday. Zhang and Xuan were detained on suspicion of child endangerment/neglect.
The Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services, which removed the couple’s children, declined to comment on the case.
Disgraced British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell could use “government misconduct” to challenge her imprisonment, her family has claimed.
The 63-year-old, who was jailed in 2022 for luring young girls to massage rooms for Jeffrey Epstein to abuse, is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence.
Maxwell’s family have frequently claimed she “did not receive a fair trial”, but legal appeals against her sex trafficking convictions have been rejected by the courts.
The latest challenge from the Maxwell family comes as President Donald Trump faces questions over whether or not he will order the release of the so-called Epstein “client list”, following a backlash from Republican loyalists who have called for any list to be made public.
Ghislaine Maxwell. Pic: US Department of Justice
Judges previously dismissed arguments from Maxwell’s lawyers that she “should never have been prosecuted” because of a “weird” agreement drafted more than 15 years ago.
The family argue that Maxwell should have been protected under an agreement Epstein had entered with the US Department of Justice in 2007, which agreed not to prosecute any of his co-conspirators.
During her trial in 2021, Maxwell was described as “dangerous” by prosecutors, who told jurors about how she would entice vulnerable girls to go to Epstein’s properties for him to sexually abuse.
In a statement, her family said: “Our sister Ghislaine did not receive a fair trial.
“Her legal team continues to fight her case in the courts and will file its reply in short order to the government’s opposition in the US Supreme Court.”
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David Oscar Markus, one of her lawyers, said in the statement released by her family: “I’d be surprised if President Trump knew his lawyers were asking the Supreme Court to let the government break a deal.
“He’s the ultimate dealmaker and I’m sure he’d agree that when the United States gives its word, it should keep it.
“With all the talk about who’s being prosecuted and who isn’t, it’s especially unfair that Ghislaine Maxwell remains in prison based on a promise the US government made and broke.’
“These are sentiments with which we profoundly concur.”
Epstein, 66, was found dead in his cell at a Manhattan federal jail in August 2019 as he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges. His death was ruled a suicide.
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