Ahmaud Arbery killing: Defendants to appear in US federal court

The three white men have been charged with federal hate crimes after the chasing and fatally shooting of the unarmed Black man.

Three white men from the US state of Georgia are set to appear before a federal judge on federal hate-crime charges in the killing of Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man who was chased and shot after being spotted running in the defendants’ neighbourhood in February 2020. Arraignments before US Magistrate Judge Benjamin Cheesbro are set for Tuesday afternoon, with federal prosecutors moving ahead with their case as a trial on state murder charges is still pending against the three defendants: Greg McMichael, his adult son Travis McMichael, and neighbour William “Roddie” Bryan. A Georgia judge has set a trial in the state’s case for October and will hear pretrial motions later this week.