All Three of the Men Responsible for Ahmaud Arbery’s Death Have Been Found Guilty

In February of 2020, three white men—Gregory McMichael, 64, his son Travis, 34, and their neighbor William Bryan, 50—pursued and fatally shot Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man, as he jogged through a south Georgia neighborhood near his home. The three men were indicted on murder charges by a Georgia grand jury last June, and on Wednesday, all three were found guilty of murdering Arbery.

Travis McMichael, the shooter whose bullet killed Arbery, was found guilty on all nine counts of his indictment, including malice murder and felony murder. Gregory McMichael was found not guilty on one count of malice murder but guilty on all other counts he faced, including felony murder; Bryan, who filmed the McMichaels’s pursuit and shooting of Arbery, was found not guilty on one count each of malice murder, felony murder, and aggravated assault, but the jury declared him guilty on three counts of felony murder as well as three other charges.

After the recent acquittal of Kenosha shooter Kyle Rittenhouse, seeing the men who ended Arbery’s life held accountable for their actions feels meaningful. According to a New York Times report, a crowd outside the courthouse started chanting “Ahmaud Arbery!” after hearing the verdict, while members of Arbery’s family “jumped, clapped and cried out” as the guilty verdict for Travis McMichael was read. Bryan and both McMichaels have been ordered to remain in the custody of the sheriff until the date of their sentencing hearing.