Earlier this week, the video of the killing of Ahmaud Arbery was posted online. After days of outrage, the men who murdered Arbery: Gregory, and Travis McMichael, were finally arrested, despite Arbery being killed in late February.
Gregory and Travis McMichael claimed that Arbery was the suspect in a series of break-ins in the neighborhood and that they were trying to make a citizens arrest. However, in order to make a citizens arrest, the perpetrator must be caught in the act of committing a crime. Arbery was simply taking a jog.
However, the McMicahel’s motive for killing Arbery is quickly crumbling.
Glynn County Police Lt. Cheri Bashlor told CNN on Friday that the last reported break-in had occurred on January 1st, 2020. This was nearly seven weeks before Arbery was killed. According to the report, the McMichaels’ were the victims of the robbery. Someone had broken into a truck parked outside of their home and stole a 9mm pistol. Because the burglary was reported nearly two months before Arbery’s murder, the motive for the murder is still unclear to officials.
According to the director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigations, Vic Reynolds, Gregory, and Travis McMichael will not face hate crime charges. Reynolds stated that Georiga is one of the few states that does not have a hate crime statute. However, the McMichaels’ have been charged with murder and aggravated assault.
However, when asked why Arbery’s murders were not arrested until this past Thursday, Reynolds stated that he could not speak on the actions of other agencies. Reynolds did, however, state that “there’s more than sufficient probable cause in this case for felony murder.”
Arbery’s family is now hoping that they get justice for Ahmaud’s murder.
Benjamin Crump, an attorney for Arbery’s father, said that “We’ve been here before whether it’s Tamir Rice or Trayvon Martin. When they kill our children, they then try to assassinate their character and I know they’re going to do that with Ahmaud Arbery.”
Arbery’s father, Marcus Arbery Sr., described his son’s killing as a “modern day lynching.” He added that “I just want justice for my son. I just want them to pay the price for the crime they did.”