Ahmaud Arbery Family Lawyer Lee Merritt Says FBI Launched Criminal Investigation Into DAs And Police Officers Over Allegedly Conspiring To Cover Up Killing

Federal authorities say they have opened a criminal investigation into the two district attorneys and members of the police department who allegedly tried to cover up Ahmaud’s killing.

Lee Merritt, the Arbery family’s lawyer, told TMZ that he met with the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia last week, and they informed the family that they are looking to investigate the officials to decide whether to take both civil and criminal action against them. Merritt also discussed the text message police sent a homeowner that said to contact Gregory McMichael, one of Ahmaud’s killers if there was any “action.”

“We’re looking at George Barnhill, at his defense of the McMichaels and his attempted coverup. We’re looking at Jackie Johnson because her local commissioner said that she instructed law enforcement not to make any arrests, and so yeah, this is a vast conspiracy at this point,” explained Merritt.

Merritt went on to say that his concerns lie with the police having properly deputized father McMichael. If the suspect was deputized correctly, the citizen’s arrest laws wouldn’t apply to him, and he would potentially be treated as a law enforcement officer, according to TMZ. McMichael’s son, Travis, was the person who fatally shot Ahmaud.

William Bryan, the man who recorded the incident, has since been arrested in connection to the murder, joining the McMichaels in custody. Bryan’s arrest has struck some happiness with the family, Merritt says.