Last year, the Black Lives Matter movement commanded the United States and the rest of the world's attention after numerous instances in which a Black person was killed by law enforcement went viral. Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and George Floyd are just a few of the names of the Black victims of police brutality during 2020, and everyone from regular protestors to celebrities helped ensure that their tragic stories weren't overlooked and forgotten.
As a result, that push helped jurors ultimately find Derek Chauvin, the police officer responsible for George Floyd's death, guilty on all charges. Now, roughly a week later, news has surfaced that Ahmaud Arbery may finally be getting justice as well because the United States Department of Justice has announced that federal prosecutors have formally indicted the three men involved in Arbery's death with several major charges.
According to CNN, federal prosecutors have deemed Gregory McMichael, Travis McMichael, and William "Roddie" Bryan Jr.'s actions to qualify as a hate crime, and they have subsequently been indicted on federal charges, including one count of interference with rights and one count of attempted kidnapping. CNN also reports that Gregory and Travis McMichael were additionally charged with one count each of using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.
The Department of Justice's press release makes it clear that these are mere indictments and that each "defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty." As result, we'll all have to pay close attention to this extremely important story as it develops in real-time, so stay tuned for more updates regarding the indictments in the federal Ahmaud Arbery case.
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