Ahmaud Arbery's Killers Found Guilty of Hate Crimes in Federal Trial

A federal jury yesterday found 36-year-old Travis McMichael, Gregory McMichael, 66, and William Bryan, 52, guilty of hate crime charges after the murder of Ahmaud Arbery two years ago today.

Both McMichaels and Bryan confronted 25-year-old Arbery while he was jogging on a public road, suspecting him of multiple break-ins in their neighborhood in Brunswick, Georgia. The men chased him for over four minutes before eventually killing him.

The killing of Arbery was videotaped by Bryan, and has been widely shared on the internet and spread throughout the media causing outrage across the country and the world. Lawmakers in Georgia passed the state’s first ever hate crimes law because of his death.

This federal sentencing comes just months after both McMichaels were found guilty of first-degree murder, receiving life in prison without the possibility of parole. Bryan will be eligible for parole in 30 years according to the New York Times.

The evidence presented by the prosecution included some which wasn’t used or available during the state’s trial. This included viciously racist and at times violent texts and social media posts by Travis McMichael. Evidence was also presented (along with the support of character witnesses) showing the racist communications of Gregory McMichael and William Bryan according to the First Coast News.

U.S. District Judge Lisa Godbey Wood stated that she would determine their federal sentences in the following weeks.

From left to right: Travis McMichael, Gregory McMichael, William Bryan