District Attorney Jackie Johnson: On February 23, 2020, Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old black man, was murdered during a racially motivated hate crime[b] while jogging in Satilla Shores, a neighborhood near Brunswick in Glynn County, Georgia.

[40] Georgia attorney general Christopher M. Carr formally requested the intervention of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the case on May 10, 2020, which was granted the following day.

[60][63][64][65] The video showed Arbery jogging on the left side of the road when he encountered a white pickup truck, a thirteenth generation Ford F-150, that had stopped in the right lane.

[93] The autopsy report released by the GBI ruled Arbery's death was a homicide caused by three gunshot wounds he sustained "during a struggle for the shotgun" that fired those shots.

[104] The GCPD said that on February 24, Waycross Judicial Circuit District Attorney George Barnhill told them that the murder of Arbery "was justifiable homicide.

[15][16] In the April 2 memorandum, Barnhill wrote: "The autopsy supports the initial opinion we gave you on February 24, at the briefing room in the Glynn County Police Department after reviewing the evidence you had at that time.

"[99] Barnhill wrote that "Arbery's mental health and prior convictions help explain his apparent aggressive nature and his possible thought pattern to attack an armed man.

[62] On May 7, Alan David Tucker, a local criminal defense attorney, said that he had sent the cell phone video to WGIG,[114][115] and that it had been recorded by William "Roddie" Bryan, who was in the second truck following Arbery.

"[116] Within hours of the video becoming public, Tom Durden, the district attorney for Georgia's Atlantic Judicial Circuit, said that he would present the case to "the next available grand jury in Glynn County" to decide if charges should be filed.

[27] Arbery's family welcomed the transfer of the case from a southeast Georgia district attorney to one in the metro Atlanta area 300 miles (480 km) away.

[127][128] The prosecution presented additional evidence to the court to support the murder charges, including hours of testimony from the lead GBI investigator.

[153] She also highlighted that twelve days before the murder, Glynn County police officer Robert Rash had relayed to the McMichaels a statement from the under-construction house's owner that Arbery "has never stolen or taken anything from his property".

[164] Brandeberry recounted Gregory saying the following: (1) that he had seen Arbery "hauling ass down the street" past his house in a "dead run";[165] (2) that Arbery had been "breaking in all these houses out here ... he makes frequent trips to the neighborhood and gets caught on video cameras every third or fourth night breaking into places and no one's been able to catch him";[166] (3) that "a driving force in my mind is my son had a missing pistol and this guy I don't know for a fact this guy has been going over doing this crap over and over ...

[185] On the first day of his testimony, Travis testified that (1) crime had increased in the neighborhood in the months before the shooting, but he did not have complete information on who committed the crimes;[186] (2) he was aware that items were stolen from the boat at his neighbor's under-construction property, and that he knew that "several people" had entered the property, any of whom could have stolen the items;[184][186] (3) twelve days before the shooting, he saw Arbery "creeping" outside the under-construction house and he confronted Arbery, who reached towards his waistband, leading Travis to leave and call 911, because he was "not going to chase or investigate somebody who might be armed";[184] (4) on the day of the shooting, Gregory McMichael, in nearly a "frantic state", told Travis to "grab your gun" because "the guy who has been breaking in down the road" had run past their house;[184][187] (5) he suspected that Arbery had been caught "breaking in" or been involved in an "altercation".

[194] She rejected the notion that the defendants were acting in self-defense "because they were the initial, unjustified aggressors," while noting that Travis McMichael had pointed his shotgun at Arbery.

"[196][197] Laura Hogue, a lawyer for Gregory McMichael, argued that "Arbery was not an innocent victim," describing him as "a recurring nighttime intruder ... frightening, and unsettling,"[194] who arrived in Satilla Shores "with no socks to cover his long dirty toenails.

"[198] She said Arbery was "acting erratically when approached and making terrible, unexpected, illogical choices," failed to "stop" or "wait, to tell the police what he was doing,"[199] and ultimately died because he "chose to fight", "without any sense of reason to run at a man wielding a shotgun.

[204] In sentencing the defendants, Judge Walmsley said "remorse is something that's felt and demonstrated", noting that "after Ahmaud Arbery fell, the McMichaels turned their backs" and "walked away".

But District Judge Lisa Godbey Wood sided with the family, acknowledging their emotional testimony as she took the rare step of rejecting the signed plea agreement, stating that she did not have enough information at that time to know whether the 30-year sentence it specified was fair.

[218] Legal experts expressed concern that public reporting on the plea agreement could prejudice the jury and make it more difficult for the McMichaels to get a fair trial.

[220] Glynn County policeman Robert Rash testified that days before the shooting he had told the McMichaels that there was no evidence that Arbery stole anything from the under-construction home.

[227] The defense played a recording of Gregory McMichael telling police in July 2019 that he and Travis had confronted a homeless man staying under a bridge near Satilla Shores, due to their suspicion of him committing theft.

[236] On September 2, 2021, Carr announced that a Glynn County grand jury had indicted ex-District Attorney Jackie Johnson on one felony count of violating the oath of a public officer "by showing favor and affection to Greg McMichael during the investigation" (Gregory was formerly her subordinate), and for being unfair to Arbery by having "recommended Barnhill to the Attorney General's Office for appointment as the case prosecutor without disclosing that she had previously sought Barnhill's assistance on the case".

The grand jury also indicted Johnson on one misdemeanor count of obstruction and hindering law enforcement, in this case the Glynn County police, "by directing that Travis McMichael should not be placed under arrest.

"[46] On February 16, 2021, exactly a week before the first anniversary of Arbery's murder, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp announced he would introduce legislation that would significantly amend the state's citizen's arrest law.

[268] After the video was released, demonstrators gathered outside the Glynn County Courthouse to demand an arrest in the case, and called for the resignation of District Attorney Jackie Johnson.

[276] Some posted tributes to Arbery, including Lecrae, David A. French, Scott Sauls, Christine Caine, Jack Graham, J. D. Greear, Viola Davis, Wanda Sykes, Padma Lakshmi, Gabrielle Union, and Andy Lassner.

[279] Civil rights leaders and politicians reacted overwhelmingly to the verdict with hopeful yet cautionary statements, and Arbery's family thanked those who showed support.

"[282] Activist and former Minority Leader of the Georgia House of Representatives Stacey Abrams said, "A jury believed the evidence of their eyes and saw the meanness in the killers' hearts.

"[281][282] Warnock's colleague Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff said, "A historic civil rights mobilization was necessary for the killers to face prosecution at all...[demonstrating] profoundly the urgency of reforms to make equal justice real in America.