Ahmaud Arbery’s convicted killers Gregory McMichael, Travis McMichael and William “Roddie” Bryan were found guilty Tuesday in their federal hate crimes trial.
The three white men were previously charged with interference with rights and attempted kidnapping. Both McMichaels were also charged with using, carrying and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence.
During the trial, it was revealed that Travis, the gunman convicted of murdering Arbery, previously and repeatedly used racist language in text messages and shared a video of a white supremacist singer with friends. It was also revealed that William “Roddie” Bryan’s phone showed evidence of him previously using racial slurs to describe black people. The FBI was not able to unlock Gregory McMichael’s iPhone, however, said they were able to retrieve some messages from his online phone backups.
25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery was killed in Feb. 2020, by three close-range shotgun blasts after the McMichaels chased him in a pickup truck as he was running through a suburban neighborhood of Brunswick, Ga. A video that captured the incident leaked in May 2020, sparking national outcry.
In November 2021, the three men were convicted on a number of charges including felony murder in the slaying of the black jogger. This January, Travis McMichael and his father, Gregory McMichael were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. William “Roddie” Bryan was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole.
