Three suspects indicted on murder charges in death of Ahmaud Arbery

The three suspects in the Ahmaud Arbery case have officially been indicted by a Georgia grand jury on murder chargers, Cobb County District Attorney Joyette Holmes announced on Wednesday.

Gregory McMichael, 64, Travis McMichael, 34, and William “Roddie” Bryan, 50, all face allegations of malice and felony murder in the Feb. 23 death of Arbery.

Ahmaud Arbery, aged 25, was shot and killed in Brunswick, Georgia after being gunned down by the McMichaels. On the afternoon of February 23, 2020, Arbery was jogging through the McMichaels’ neighborhood and they thought he was a burglary suspect that had been breaking into homes around the area.

William Bryan was accused of using his pickup truck to box Arbery in so he could not get away.

The indictment includes four counts of felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault, and one count of false imprisonment and criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment.

While many like Arbery’s mother are pleased with the indictment, the fight is not over to bring justice for Ahmaud Arbery. Many other victims of racial violence like Breonna Taylor, Elijah McClain, and George Floyd have continued to spark up conversations about laws and policies that should be implemented so situations like these do not happen again. This past week, Georgia passed a new hate crime bill that will allow criminal penalties for people who target others due to race, sex, gender, religious affiliation, national origin, or sexual orientation. Many people have brought awareness to the systemic racism that is still imbedded within American society and they are continuing to do so by organizing peace demonstrations, creating and signing petitions, and donating to black organizations.

As a Georgia native, I am glad to see the Ahmaud Arbery case is moving forward with charging all three suspects with Arbery’s murder. However, there is still a long way to go with not just Arbery’s case but Breonna Taylor’s, George Floyd’s, and Elijah McClain’s as well. Only one of three officers responsible for the murder of Breonna Taylor have been fired, many of the officers involved George Floyd’s case have been released from jail, and Elijah McClain’s case has yet to be taken seriously. We must continue to speak out about the innocent lives taken due to racial violence. It is time for America to wake up and fight to end the years of suffering minorities have faced due to other’s ignorance.