arbery shooting
Courtesy LiveLeak
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By Russ Bynum, Associated Press

A Georgia prosecutor said Tuesday that he wants a grand jury to decide if criminal charges are warranted in the death of a man shot after a pursuit by armed men who later told police they suspected him of being a burglar.

Ahmaud Arbery, 25, was killed Feb. 23 in a neighborhood outside the coastal port city of Brunswick. No one has been arrested or charged in the case, prompting an outcry from the local NAACP and others. Arbery was black and the men who chased him are white.

“All I want to do is get justice for my son,” said Marcus Arbery, the slain man’s father, who believes his son was out jogging when he was killed. “This is terrible. It could happen to anybody’s kid.”

 

The announcement that a grand jury will review the case came as an attorney for Arbery’s mother posted a cellphone video on Twitter that he said shows the shooting. “This is murder,” lawyer Lee Merritt said.

“Mr. Arbery had not committed any crime and there was no reason for these men to believe they had the right to stop him with weapons or to use deadly force in furtherance of their unlawful attempted stop,” said a statement by Merritt, who represents Arbery’s mother, Wanda Cooper.

Tom Durden, an outside prosecutor assigned to examine the case, said he plans to have a grand jury hear the evidence in the shooting. That won’t happen for more than a month, as Georgia courts remain largely closed because of the coronavirus until at least June 13.

“I am of the opinion that the case should be presented to the grand jury of Glynn County for consideration of criminal charges against those involved in the death of Mr. Arbery,” Durden said in a statement Tuesday.

Reached by phone, Durden said no arrests have been made in connection with the shooting. He declined to say what charges he would have a grand jury consider.

The cellphone video, initially posted by a Brunswick radio station, shows a black man running at a jogging pace on the left side of a two-lane road. A truck is parked in the road ahead of him, with one man in the pickup bed and another standing beside the open driver’s side door.

The runner crosses the road to pass the pickup on the passenger side, then crosses back in front of the truck. A gunshot sounds, and the video shows the runner grappling with a man in the street over what appears to be a shotgun or rifle. A second shot can be heard and the runner can be seen punching the man. A third shot is fired at point-blank range. The runner staggers a few feet and falls face down.

“I think the video is very clear that they were on the truck with guns hunting him down,” said Benjamin Crump, an attorney for Arbery’s father. “I don’t know what more you need to make an arrest.”

Durden declined to comment Tuesday when the prosecutor was asked if he could verify that the video showed the shooting of Arbery.

According to an incident report filed by Glynn County police, Arbery was shot Feb. 23 after two men spotted him running in their neighborhood and armed themselves with guns before getting in a truck to pursue him. Gregory McMichael told police that he and his adult son thought the young man matched someone caught on a security camera committing a recent break-in in the neighborhood.

According to his father, Arbery didn’t live far from the Satilla Shores neighborhood where the McMichaels gave chase after spotting him on a Sunday afternoon.

The police report says Gregory McMichael told officers he and his son first tried to stop Arbery by shouting, “Stop, stop, we want to talk to you!”

McMichael said his son got out of the truck and the Arbery “began to violently attack” him and “the two men then started fighting over the shotgun,” the police report said.

The police report says Gregory McMichael turned Arbery onto his back to see if he was armed — but the report doesn’t say whether he had a weapon or not.

The Southern Poverty Law Center, an Alabama-based civil rights group, has demanded the U.S. Justice Department investigate.

A phone number listed for Gregory McMichael has been disconnected. The Associated Press could not immediately find a phone listing for Travis McMichael.

Jackie Johnson, the district attorney for Glynn County, recused herself from the case because Gregory McMichael worked as an investigator in her office. He retired a year ago.

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216 COMMENTS

  1. Had it been one of us the charges would have been immediate but McMichael is a retired veteran, county law enforcement investigator.
    There is no need for the Grand Jury, the DA can bring charges without them.
    McMichael should be in jail and no bond until the murder trial IMO.

    • It does look like he ran around the truck and attacked the guy with the long gun. On the other hand if they were pursuing him maybe he thought he was going to be shot anyway and decided to go on the offensive.

      Who was in the other car taking the video?

      I am going to wait to form an opinion. I read the entire Michael Brown grand jury report and George Zimmerman trial transcripts and they contained facts that you never have and never will hear from the lamestream media. Send it to a grand jury and let all the facts come out. I am standing by for the truth about this incident.

      • Watch again. The McMichaels had pulled far ahead of Arbery, stopped, and set up an ambush. Arbery first tries to swing left of the truck, but McMichael intercepts him. Arbery then tries going around the right, but McMichael runs to the front of the truck to stop him there. Arbery was trying to get away from armed men.

        The McMichaels claimed they were making a citizen’s arrest. However it was unlawful under Georgia Code § 17-4-60: “A private person may arrest an offender if the offense is committed IN HIS PRESENCE or WITHIN HIS IMMEDIATE KNOWLEDGE.”

        They admitted in the 911 call that they had only seen Arbery jogging by on numerous evenings, and that they only suspected him of a recent burglary of an under-construction house. They did not see it, and the alleged suspicion was not of an immediate crime.

        Murder is § 16-5-1 “unlawfully and with malice aforethought”

        The “arrest” was unlawful, and the facts they armed themselves specifically to pursue him and chased him down (per McMichael’s statement to police) demonstrates forethought.

        • The McMichaels will have a lot of explaining to do. This does not look good for them and rightfully so. Call the police and be done with it. This should cost them their freedom. Even if the kid was a burglar, does that mean he gets a death warrant?

          ***FYI – when running from people in a vehicle on a road a good rule of thumb is to run away from the road, not down the road.

      • The killer’s family is connect to law enforcement. They thought he was a criminal because he was a black man in a white neighborhood. They claimed they believed they saw a black man on a security camera committing a property crime in the past. They decided to chase him when they saw him running on the road. The dad and the son grabbed a shotgun and a revolver before jumping in the truck. They chased him and he kept running from the crazy old man and his son. They drove down the road and stopped to wait for him. The father was in the back of the truck with his pistol. The son was in the truck with a shotgun. When the black man got close to the truck the son jumped out and threatened the man with the shotgun. The black man tried to keep running but decided to protect himself from the man pointing a shotgun at him. When the black man tried to stop the white man from pointing a gun at him he fired off a round. Then it became a fight for the gun and the black man’s life. They shot the man a few times.

        That’s from what I gather.

        The white men didn’t get charged because they are connected to the local law enforcement and the other man was black. When someone uploaded the incident online black people got pissed and demanded justice. The DA doesn’t want to charge the white men for a crime for various reasons. So the DA is passing the responsibility to a jury, which is unlikely to charge the white men for a crime.

        I haven’t heard if the black man was actually the one to commit the crime the white men claimed he did. They just assumed he looked like a young black male, thus he must be the criminal.

        A police officer would have been given a pass on the shooting by the DA and department. They would have claimed it was justified because the man went for the officer’s gun. They will not considered self defense on the part of the suspected criminal as being legitimate even if it turns out the man was just jogging.

        But these men weren’t wearing a uniform and a badge to gain that immunity. It’s all up to their personal connections with the government. When it comes to the jury, race and the lack of badges will play a big part.

        • Yep, that;s why in today’s society, it’s better to just mind your own business. They should have made a phone call instead of ambushing. I don’t foresee this one playing out in the shooters favor. Even if this was the suspected robber (burglar? not sure) he was clearly going to avoid everything they did and continue to run, at that point you have to consider your options: Pursue and follow at a safe distance until someone more immune to murder charges arrives, or mind your own business. The latter is safer. I am all for less police/government involvement, but it’s clear that without a reasonable doubt and 100% proof and justification of your actions, you are not going to get out of it easy, if at all. Not something I’d be willing to go bankrupt for.

          Best they could have done is deal with the witness and hide the bodies, or at least destroy the video evidence. Then it’s 2 or even 3 (if the driver was trying to be on their side) mens words against a dead man, with a POSSIBLE criminal history. Much easier to manipulate public opinion that way than the way they have to now.

        • Yes, this being Georgia, anything can happen. Why I keep moving on toward Florida when I head south. At least the odds are better. In Georgia, Billy Bob knows half the town and nothing is going to happen. Good state to be a flyover or driveby state.

        • Secondary point don’t start fistfight at wrong end of gun… That’s next level stupid

    • BREAKING: Just reported(with video) on ABC News-5:45pm CDT. Those rednecks are toast…

    • This is Georgia. Enough said. Why I would never live there and only pass through on the interstate, preferably with a full tank.

      • What state do you live in that’s so superior? A state with no crime, no dangerous or crazy people? A state with an invincible shield and all seeing surveillance system to protect you at all times?

        Good grief. If you think your own state has no violent or dangerous people then I suggest looking up your own states crime history. For example, Wisconsin, a state that rarely ever makes the news for any excitement like this had two of the most notorious serial killers in US history. You also speak of Florida like nothing crazy or dangerous goes on there? I assure you even quaint little Vermont has a handful of people that would rape you while on crack then leave you in a ditch full of aids to die a humiliating death.

  2. ^agree. I saw the whole video (unfortunately) when it was posted on Twitter earlier. This was a straight armed hunt.

        • No it’s not. They have no proof. Couple rednecks trying to be vigilantes and failing at it.

        • Remember how young black males would be blamed for a rape of a white girl and the white men would grab their guns to go have a chat with the accused boy? Next thing you know the boy is shot dead or hanging from a tree. Of course no proof such a crime ever happened, just a white girl blaming the easiest scapegoat. The white men go home and celebrate the evenings events with a drink and laughter. The police take the white men and girl at their word…

          That’s a lynching.

        • Remember when a young black man lied about being attacked by racist whites and the racist media, political class, celebrity class, and a few other dunces believed it because they wanted to believe it? It turns out all people are capable of evil no matter what their skin color is. People obsessed with skin color are the real racists.

        • @Dude

          The racist white people being racist against white people? The half white man trying to be racist against himself while also defending his other half?

          That’s two different things.

          What you are talking about is race baiting, for political division, to benefit the ruling class. White men like to conflate that to defend their ancestors and their government system. Unfortunately, Republicans fall for Tucker Carlson’s psychological operation.

          I know you hate this guy, but he is very correct on this one:

        • “The racist white people being racist against white people?”

          Yes. It’s against the “other” white people. You know. The ones that think differently from us. The ones that vote different. The desperate clingers. The rubes. It’s all prejudice.

        • @Dude

          Right, totally racist to say “white men” because women can’t be white too. Of course it’s racist to point out a particular group of people being discussed using the concepts those people created to refer to a specific group.

          I guess I have to refer to the black man too and the brown man and the yellow man. We don’t want to point to the history of the area and the upbringing of the people involved. It’s totally not an American cultural issue with a particular group.

          Let’s just misdirect away from the group that created the problem by calling everyone else racist including the white ones. Then we can go talk statistics and blame black males for committing all the crimes in America while claiming not to see color.

          Learn a new way to obfuscate.

        • “Learn a new way to obfuscate.”
          Pardon me. I meant racist AND sexist, as usual. Is that clear enough?

          “Then we can go talk statistics and blame…”
          Do you have a mouse in your pocket?

          Learn a new way to obfuscate.

        • I get both your points, and they are both right. However, the numbers don’t lie. When 60% of the population is white, and somehow 60% of the crime in the country is committed by a minority (blacks), something is fuckey. For that same exposure, over 60% of hate crimes committed are done by the majority (whites). W. E. B. Du Bois pioneered these studies back when they were truly relative. Now days though, when you have all races spread across all jobs and positions of power, including sexes too, it’s not really a relative number any more. It’s basically community based and secluded to location.

          I mean, when you think about it, it has not been that long ago that blacks were freed and some of the braver ones started infiltrating white land trying to coexist. Right? As far as you look back, black communities were setup outside of the plantations they were freed from, and same with inner cities too. All that said, no doubt about it that racism goes both ways. And now what we are seeing is a lot of pro black racism that is widely accepted because people are afraid to call their bullshit out. If racist whites were such a problem, there would have never been an end to slavery. And if black racists were such a problem, BLM would have overthrown cities. But they didn’t. Both ways.

          We are not as divided as the media hypes us up to be. We all do the same shit. Work, eat sleep repeat and get 38% of it taxed. Racism is strangely equal. It exists in ALL races worldwide. It may not be any different for another 10,000 years until there is world government. Who knows. Until every community is infiltrated and we are all MUTS, trying NOT to focus on race is the best thing that can be done. Even simply ignoring the “stats” about crime. Because there are too many variables and inconsistencies to consider.

        • “trying NOT to focus on race is the best thing that can be done”

          Here’s a crazy idea. Just hear me out on this. Judge someone by the content of their character, and not the color of their skin, or even which genitalia they were born with. Racists focus skin color.

  3. Even if he was a perp and the right one at that we don’t go out on a public street and confront the suspect with guns. They were pretty far from their property and put themselves in his way. Cell phones allow us to call cops with ease.

    We all have the RTKBA but it comes with responsibility. Terrible shoot.

    The cell phone video is terrible but I wonder who thought to record a guy jogging along a road? Seems strange a person would just happen to be doing that.

    • Car cam. I have one, runs when I’m driving. Great for those times when you need proof that the wreck was not your fault.

        • Definitely hand held and probably turned it on when they saw the truck with a guy standing in the bed with a gun pass the runner.

          That said, the victim when he ran around the truck didn’t try to run away nor did the guy with the gun make a move toward him. The victim ran around the truck and directly at the guy with the gun. He did not try to run away and that is what the jury will cling to. The victim actually attacked the gunman therefore his life was forfeit.

          I’m not saying it’s right, it isn’t, I’m saying that’s what the jury will say. Bad shoot but no prosecution in a stand your ground state.

        • The arrest was unlawful and the armed citizen had no legal standing. SYG only applies in cases of lawful self defense and is moot as a legal argument in this case.

        • anonymous4goodreason:

          Wrong. He went around the passenger side to avoid the driver who had just gotten out. When the driver cut him off, I am sure his only defense was to try and grab the gun to avoid being shot, judging by how close they were. He did in fact try to avoid him. A smarter way would have been to run off the road, agreed, but none of the people in this video are smart. Not even the driver. That is some video footage I would have never taken. Not my problem, and certainly not going to be involved with tyrants to help either side.

        • Nope SF, I’m not wrong, he did run to the right but after passing the truck he made a hard left running directly at the gunman. Watch it again.

        • anonymous4goodreason:

          I have watched it multiple times. A hard left? He was cut off. The driver went around to the passenger side and held up his gun. At that point, you either turn and run, get shot in the back, or try to defend yourself, right? What would you do in that exact millisecond? Not the whole scenario, but if you had tried to run around and got cut off… would you just stop running and surrender and hope to not be shot? Would you try to run the other way, any other way and hope to not be shot in the back? Or would you try to charge and grab the gun barrel in an attempt to overtake someone who was following you and has now ambushed you. Answer that EXACT question, because there are no other possible outcomes from that split second being cut off around the front of the truck. Also factor in the guy with his gun ready in the bed of the truck. Good luck!

        • Montana, I have to believe you’re seeing what you want to see. The gunman moves to the front of the truck but does not move toward the runner. The runner makes a left and attacks the gunman on the right-front side of the truck. If you have slow-mo give that a try.

          I did not say that I would not have done the same thing. I certainly might have. I also think the father son duo should be charged with premeditated murder. They might not have intended to kill him but having taken weapons (I say weapons ’cause it just as easily could have been baseball bats) they certainly must have known that could happen. I just don’t think they will be charged. I hope I’m wrong.

    • While that is generally true we are in a time where police are not responding to calls and jails have been emptied of even violent offenders. We get a story or two a week about some recent ex con who invaded the wrong home and lost the contest to the homeowner. So I am not prepared today to tell people you should not chase down offenders yourself at this time.

      • …”alleged” offender…

        This father-son tag team believed Arbery looked similar to a suspected burglar. They had no definitive evidence he was the actual criminal. Arbery was not required to talk when they attempted to stop him against his will.

        Furthermore, if two agitated men yelled at me from the side of the road, then followed me in their vehicle and eventually attempted to stop me while holding guns in their hands, I would genuinely fear for my life and fight back to stop the threat at any cost. This appears to be what Arbery did.

        These two morons cooked their own legal goose.

        • “Furthermore, if two agitated men yelled at me from the side of the road, then followed me in their vehicle and eventually attempted to stop me while holding guns in their hands, I would genuinely fear for my life and fight back to stop the threat at any cost.”

          As would I. That video doesn’t look very good for the pursuers…

        • They thought he matched a break in suspect seen on security video.
          Was the break-in reported and Was the Video given to the PoPo?

        • “Looked similar to a suspected burglar”. ie, he was a black man, right? They’d better come up with some better “looks like” than that.

        • How does this differ from Zimmerman?

          He arms himself and went on the hunt, ignoring cease and desist order from the dispatcher.

          Trayvon saw creepy armed white guy stalking him. Creepy white guy tries to illegally detain Trayvon, Trayvon went on the offensive, got shot.

        • “Trayvon saw creepy armed white guy stalking him. Creepy white guy tries to illegally detain Trayvon,…”

          Wrong.

          ‘Innocent Trayvon’ circles back around the building and cold-cocks Zimmerman. ‘Innocent Trayvon’ then attacks Zimmerman, getting him on the sidewalk where he proceeds to pummel Zimmerman. Then ‘Innocent Trayvon’ starts smashing Zimmerman’s head into the sidewalk.

          Fearing for his life, Zimmerman defends himself by shooting ‘Innocent Trayvon’.

          Every eyewitness of those events (there were several) collaborated Zimmerman’s story of the events.

          That’s why there was no arrest that night. It was clearly self-defense, and the jury saw it the same way.

          It’s never too late to work on your coping skills… 🙂

        • “Collaborated” means that Zimmerman and the witnesses got together and concocted a fake story.

          “Corroborated” means the independent and uncontaminated recollections match up.

          That’s a Bloomberg style misnomer there.

        • Miner:

          The trayvon case was 100% different. Zimmerman should have been on the phone with police during the entire thing, but regardless, Trayvon was guilty, and was not being ambushed at gun point. He was being followed from a “safe” distance (yea, not smart, but still not the same as this case). Also, when the entire case was filled with pro black racism and people who use terms when referring to how someones voice sounded over the phone during a fight as “Creepy ass cracker”, don’t expect to be cared for when the media lies about just how “innocent” that person was.

          That said, this case has no proof of crime. It was an ambush. It was poorly executed. And it was without a doubt race based.

        • Hey, look, there is miner49er, lying his ass off again! After all this time and all the publicized information about facts of the case of a “white” Hispanic and thug Obama’s son, no one can claim ignorance or confusion.

        • “And it was without a doubt race based.”

          Fascinating how you can read the minds of people you never met. You’d make an excellent juror since you can tell what’s in someone’s thoughts.

          So if the victim (and he is a victim) were white and the idiots who shot him were black, would that also be race based? What if he was mixed race? Would that be 50% race based?

      • I am perfectly well prepared to tell people not to chase someone down the street with your weapons. If the perp is coming into your house, blow him away. If the perp is armed and/or coming at you, blow him away. If the perp is running away from you, you better let him go, or if you feel you must stop him, you use physical force, not a firearm, to stop him. You are never justified threatening your suspect based on some suspicion that maybe he might have committed a crime sometime in the past year or so.

        Father and son need to share a prison cell for a few years. They can do some serious bonding during that time.

        • The coronoa will save them from a cage. Human rights and all that. Ironic.

    • Looks to me like, 150 years ago, they would have been riding horses and carrying a rope. It would have been very easy to follow him with the truck while calling LE, no need whatsoever to confront him with guns. I suspect these heroes are toast. I sure hope so.

    • I’ve *speculated* that the McMichaels blew past the vehicle doing the recording, that person noticed the guns, and figured something odd was up. But until the person is identified, we won’t know why the decision to record was made.

    • “The cell phone video is terrible but I wonder who thought to record a guy jogging along a road? Seems strange a person would just happen to be doing that.”

      We have an answer to that question –

      “The surge of attention, and the decision to open a state investigation, was prompted by the video — a video shot by a friend of Greg and Travis McMichael who had helped the father and son chase down and trap Arbery. William “Roddie” Bryan, 50, is identified in police documents as the person behind the video. He is also referenced by Greg McMichael in the police report of the Feb. 23 shooting.”

      https://www.ajc.com/news/brunswick-area-shooting-sparks-national-conversation-local-action/3JKOIgy6f9HbJu9STYdkeM/

      Those stupid shits just video recorded their own murder convictions…

      • They didn’t get the letter that informed Boomers and their children that white privilege has been revoked by Millennials and Zoomers. They are living in the past, where they could film their crimes against minorities to enjoy at a later time and not have it used against them in a court of law. They really thought because they are part of the law enforcement brotherhood they could record their deeds to show their buddies how it’s done.

  4. I am not understanding why two citizens would arm themselves and go hunting for a suspected burglar.
    I am also not understanding why those citizens would take it upon themselves to attempt to stop and question someone they thought to be a suspect.

    If armed strangers asked me to stop, “Hey, we want to talk with you”, I would be on my guard. Heck, if unarmed strangers ask me to stop by saying “…we want to talk with you”, I am still on my guard.

    All the elements for a bad ending.

    • Exactly. If you think you see someone suspected of a crime, take a photo with your phone for evidence and call the police. Follow from a distance if necessary, but do not engage.

      • Non police have the power to arrest criminals, but I suggest not to try if you don’t know how or physically are not capable of fighting. Just because you got a gun doesn’t mean people will listen and will not become combative. If you can’t handle all situations it’s best to wait for someone that can, same applies to cops.

        • I can’t speak to other states’ policies, but in CA a citizen may make an arrest if he/she is an eye witness to a felony in progress. Simply *believing* a passerby looks like a person of interest does not allow for detention of that passerby.

          But as I said, I’m only speaking for CA. What does the law allow you to do over there in Moscow?

        • In California CA’s can be effected for any crime (infraction, misdemeanor, or felony)…. then the arrestee can turn around and sue the arresting party for false arrest and depriving them of their civil rights if it’s a bad arrest. California is the Land Of Lawyers, so BOTH happen quite often because everybody (especially me) is a legal expert out here….. =P

        • Before attempting a citizen’s arrest, people really need to review the law. Not just any dickweed can run around the neighborhood stopping people at random, arresting them. And, this one looks random. Some random video footage seems to show a black skinned figure, so these guys try to arrest the frist random black guy seen in the vicinity? FFS that’s stooopid. Even if they somehow accidentally got the right guy, it’s so stooopid they should serve time for stooopidiity.

    • Those two armed citizens didn’t realize the times have changed. Those changes have even started to occur in their neck of the woods.

      • Yup. The Boomer is going to get his Xer son to put down “thugs” and they will high five when they get back home. They don’t realize they are all over the internet and the “colored” people have some power now.

        Look at Texas. The cops still think it’s the 50s.

        • Which part of Texas? Austin? Dallas? Which cops? Art Acevedo? Could have fooled me, and I’m from California.

        • @California Richard

          Every damn place in Texas. They think they can do whatever they want because they have a badge. It’s like the 80s-90s LAPD gang units, but now they have MRAPs and gunners in helicopters.

          California is still shit when it comes to justice against police. Texas was as bad until minorities and women got involved with the justice system, now it’s very slowly changing. It only took a bunch of cops in Dallas to get blasted and innocent people shot on their property to finally move Texas in a positive direction while the police continue to resist the change.

    • “I am not understanding why two citizens would arm themselves and go hunting for a suspected burglar.
      I am also not understanding why those citizens would take it upon themselves to attempt to stop and question someone they thought to be a suspect.”

      Why? That is exactly what George Zimmerman did, he killed a kid and got a pass.

      • The blood on the back of Zimmerman’s head collaborated his story of the events that night, that he was brutally attacked.

        ‘Innocent Trayvon’ was a vicious thug that got what was coming to him…

      • Is there no depth to which you won’t go to spread your leftist lies? Even after the fact finding process of a trial that took years and cost tens of millions of dollars and nearly tore the country apart, you would still attempt try to perpetuate that deceitful and dishonest narrative the news media promoted? The man was tried and found not guilty of all charges. ALL CHARGES. Is there not some other tragedy you can use to promote divisiveness and spread your vile hate?

      • You do realize the 12-year-old Trayvon in all the photos was not the same as the 17-year-old Trayvon who attacked Zimmerman?

      • “Why? That is exactly what George Zimmerman did, he killed a kid and got a pass.”
        Must really chaff your ass that he walked.
        A jury of his peers found him Not Guilty.
        The cops who talked to him declined to arrest him after he talked to them for hours immediately after.
        The DA was pressured by national groups to charge him and challenge the SYG law, even though he never invoked it. If there was a On My Back Getting Hit Law instead GZ could have invoked it but no.

        and don’t forget these points:
        Tm went back outside hunting the MFer (his words) that was following him. Dad’s house was right there and he would have been safe and lived to beat up someone else.
        GZ was assaulted first and thoroughly. GZ is lucky to be alive.
        GZ motivation for following TM is actually beside the point. We can follow anyone we choose. When the followed decides to start shit and gets popped for it that’s what happens when you get physical. Plenty of armchair quarterbacks have criticized GZ for being out there, some even complain about the crime in the neighborhood at night too.

        But you go on believing whatever BS you like

    • “I am not understanding why two citizens would arm themselves and go hunting for a suspected burglar.
      I am also not understanding why those citizens would take it upon themselves to attempt to stop and question someone they thought to be a suspect.”

      Simple, two-word answer: Georgia

      Down here, it’s pronounced “Jow Jah”.
      I live just across the state line in Florgia.
      These two deserve first-degree murder convictions, but I reckon voluntary manslaughter is a safer bet.

    • From the article:
      “…but he was not immediately charged because Travis McMichael claimed he was acting within the scope of a citizen’s arrest.”

      I don’t think that will hold up in court, and definitely not in a civil lawsuit.

      • The McMichaels claimed they were making a citizen’s arrest. However it was unlawful under Georgia Code § 17-4-60: “A private person may arrest an offender if the offense is committed IN HIS PRESENCE or WITHIN HIS IMMEDIATE KNOWLEDGE.”

        • Regardless. If they did not articulate he was under arrest for a specific crime they cannot use such powers. They are not investigators/detectives and they have no warrant. But they have guns and they are connected to the government, therefore they feel like the law and morality doesn’t apply to them.

  5. White dudes in a pickup truck running down and executing a black man is some Jim Crow stuff. Clear corruption in the local DA’s office, it’s ridiculous that they weren’t immediately arrested and charged. There is no way to interpret this as a good shooting.

    South gonna South.

    • Is Chicago part of the South, jackass? Huge murders of young black men, including shootings from moving cars, less than 2% of cases ever cleared.

      • You’re making this about something it isn’t, textbook whataboutism. If you sincerely believe that the South has no racism or racists willing to kill a man for the color of his skin you’re delusional.

        • If you think racism only exists in the south….or is something that exists to a larger degree than other places you are the delusional one.

      • Armed white men regularly gun down black men from cars in Chicago? Had no idea, will start avoiding Chicago as I am an armed white man and would not want to have to shoot a black man out my car window.

        You fail at whatever point you are trying to make Larryintx.

    • Where do you live that’s so superior to the south? Please, provide the state you reside in and I’ll be more then happy to point out racism, corruption, murder, and evil.

  6. BGs (from truck) had no lawful right to Stop victim or display firearms. Victim had justification to preceive lethal threats from both BGs who had searched for him then blocked his freedom of movement and initiated the confrontation while armed. On face value, both BGs should have been charged with premeditated murder.

    Lets say for the sake of debate, the victim had a long Rap Sheet including Burglary and LE matches fingerprints and DNA from the referenced crime where “Joggers” image was caught on video. There is still no justification for the BGs to display firearms if trying to make a citizens arrest when the origional alleged crime had no violence/threat/weapon.

    It is NEVER A DEFENSIVE use of Lethal Force when the initiator is the aggressor. If the Jogger tries to protect himself and it includes grabbing aggressors weapon: that does not change the Aggressor and Victim legal positions.

    • “Zimmerman had no lawful right to Stop victim or display firearms. Victim had justification to preceive lethal threats from Zimmerman who had searched for him then blocked his freedom of movement and initiated the confrontation while armed. On face value, Zimmerman should have been charged with premeditated murder.”

      Wow, I’m surprised but I completely agree with your assessment of the situation. I wonder, just when will Zimmerman be charged with premeditated murder?

      • “I wonder, just when will Zimmerman be charged with premeditated murder?”

        He was charged and found innocent by a jury, son.

        Suck on it and smile… 🙂

      • Zimmerman was found innocent because he had his head smashed into the road. The shooting was considered an separate act, an act of self defense. Nothing to do with stand your ground. Had it only been punches, because he started a fight, he would have went to prison.

        So, when you defend yourself make sure not to go beyond what is necessary. When you do cross that line the person that started it can claim to be a victim defending their life.

      • Tens of millions of dollars were spent on the trial. The verdict. Not Guilty of all charges. That you would knowingly try to perpetuate the narrative of Zimmerman murdering an innocent child in the face of those facts and in the faces of all of us who know better, speaks deeply not only of bankrupt moral character, but your mental stability.

      • Trollin’…trollin’…trollin…keep those posts a rollin’…Trollhide.

        Keep movin’, movin’, movin’
        Though they’re disapprovin’
        Keep them lies a movin’, Trollhide
        Don’t try to understand ’em
        Just rope ’em, throw, and brand ’em
        Still we’ll be lying high and wide
        My heart’s calculatin’…Trollhide

        *with sincerest apologies to Frankie Laine who wrote the Rawhide theme song.

  7. This was NOT a good shoot…2 yahoo vigilantes gunned an unarmed down in cold blood…
    Time to see the inside of a prison cell, preferably on death row…

  8. Hope they sort this all out, and anybody involved in criminal acts, including any attempt to sweep it under the rug, is brought to justice.

    • I suspect, at the time, there were only two stories told, both agreed, cops had no choice. If I’m right, the story told will not agree with this video, the boys might want to consider a cruise to a country without extradition. Pretty quick!

      • What country will provide a haven for two white rednecks accused of shooting a person for jogging while black?

        • Brazil will not extradite if you father a child with a citizen. Even for murder.

      • I suspect, at the time, there were only story was from an ex-cop and the police had no choice without getting push-back from other cops.

        Fixed it for you.

        But then again, you are from a state, when you can get a get a gun, and kill a hooker who will not give you a refund.

  9. As always, I’ll be interested in seeing all the facts come out. But that looks fucked. If I were the victim, and was in that situation, I’d have reacted violently, and I would have been shot. Bad shoot, done by idiots is my first impression.

  10. Not often you are presented with video evidence in a matter like this, the McMichael’s are about to find out what the true cost of criminal defense attorneys are.

  11. Black man in the south.

    White guys with guns ‘just want to talk to you’.

    They are not police.

    What would you do?

  12. There are things called cell phones and most have cameras. Surely one of the three in the truck had one. Take a photo, turn around and present the evidence to the police. If the deceased was minding his own business and was not involved the three individuals in the truck have no defense and will face murder charges. Guessing games and it sure looks like him does not fly. Hopefully a Grand Jury will determine what happened. and what should not have happened.

  13. Handled properly, this might be the opportunity to pretty much put an end to an era. Regardless of the outcome at trial, I pray the judicial system manages to write the final page in this chapter of our history.

  14. There is more to the story than the video shows. An ar15.com denizen, “Lurker768” said:

    “I live in the area. Much much more to the story.

    a) Series of property thefts in the subdivision
    b) Jogger was caught in a property that was not his.
    c) Jogger was chased due to item b)
    d) Jogger grabbed gun when confronted and pulled it towards himself, it was a shotgun.
    e) Family admits jogger had a history of crimes….. including property crimes…… and mental issues… but said he should have been left alone to do what he needed to do.
    f) DA recused due to one of the two who chased used to work for the DA in some manner
    g) Family is currently doing a TARVON[sic] was a good kid DA search. No one wants to touch it.
    h) it goes on.”

    Of course I am not saying this was a righteous shooting(I really don’t know at this point); on the other hand, one thing that should have been made clear to anyone with a lick of common sense, after the cases of Zimmerman/Martin and Wilson/Brown, the Covington kids, Jussie Smollett, you can’t believe anything the news media says. They are liars, trouble makers, and the enemy of ordinary, decent people.
    Regarding the media, this case will be no different.

    • Thanks for the info. I had no opinion. But it’s The South©. And it looks bad for those white boyz in a truck…

      • Don’t tell anyone, but I hear there are racists up North as well. There is a much higher percentage of blacks living in the south. White folks up north love their highly segregated neighborhoods as much as anyone.

      • Really? And exactly what does being in the south have to do with anything? Sounds like too many of you nimrods have preconceived ideas about the south, and of course that these white guys must be “red-necks”. A short video which doesn’t tell the whole story seems to be enough for you ignorant shits to make your decision, thankfully we still have courts of law where the facts can be presented.

        What I find interesting is that this black guy insisted on charging the individual with the shotgun. Why didn’t he just stop running and talk with them in a civil manner? If this was about murdering a black guy, why didn’t these two white guys just drive by and shoot him and drive off, why confront him? Why is it that these blacks NEVER act civil and always chose the road of arrogance and confrontation, and all the better when it is with white guys.

        I expect the main things that will come out of this, 1) It will be shown that this negro was the perpetrator of multiple crimes in this “hood”, 2) he was a poor innocent black kid that had his whole future ahead of him (according to his relatives and friends), 3) the shooting will be considered accidental or self defense considering that the negro attacked the guy with the gun, 4) the black community and a crap load of leftists will lose their mind and riot over the outcome.

        • “Why didn’t he just stop running and talk with them in a civil manner?” I don’t know, maybe it had something to do with a couple of guys threatening him with guns? I probably going out on a limb here, I know.

        • ‘you nimrods think all southerners are racists!’

          ‘why do these negroes constantly act so uppity?’

          dude, you are a textbook example.

        • Yehaw rattle boy! IF you called my wife a “negro” you and your boyfriend would be pushing up daisies. The NEW South© sounds as effed up as the old south…

        • “dude, you are a textbook example.”

          I’m going to have to change my name. 😉

        • I guess you are not a minority that has been historically blamed for all the problems in society and can’t get justice within the system when wronged. If you were, you wouldn’t feel all that comfortable to stop and have a “chat” with two angry armed white men who are connected with the local corrupt PD.

          We all know when you are young black male the cops always believe you to be innocent of all accounts.

        • Former water walker are you saying you and your wife would murder two people because one of them called you a name?

          Yeah. You northerners are just SO superior… 🙄

        • “ Really? And exactly what does being in the south have to do with anything? Sounds like too many of you nimrods have preconceived ideas about the south, and of course that these white guys must be “red-necks”.

          “This Negro”

        • Judging an entire geographic region based upon a selective comment is beyond ignorant, and is the very definition of prejudice.

      • I love how northerners think they’re inherently superior to southerners. It’s almost as if, they’re pre judging people they don’t know based upon their geography, beliefs, or skin color. I think I remember a word that describes such an attitude… I know it’s there… hmm… I think it starts with an R? Or is it a B? Or perhaps it’s a P? Hmm… there’s a few words that describe that attitude I think…

        • We did conquer the south, so that would explain our superiority complex… Just saying.

    • The information from Lurker768, if true, makes this similar to the Zimmerman/Martin case with the critical difference that Zimmerman did everything right and these two did nearly everything wrong. (Zimmerman’s mistake was to get out of his truck which left him vulnerable to attack by Martin. It was a tactical error but not illegal.)

    • Some of those “Lurker768” statements are inconsistent with McMichael’s statements to 911 and the police. He could not specify a crime even when directly asked by 911, and his description of events appears to conflict with the short video currently available. Police supposedly have security video from homes in the area, so maybe that will clarify things.

      Arbery’s background is less sure, but so far all I’ve found is one arrest (unlicensed carry of a firearm in a school zone and resisting arrest) in late 2013. Nothing since found, but maybe there is something else.

      • I believe there was also a shoplifting conviction around the same time as the gun crime as well… but both of those were when he was a teenager, and hardly paint the picture of him being some violent thug today.

    • I don’t see how any of his past history has anything to do with what happened in that video.

      Makes me think of the attempt by the Calumet County Sheriff’s office to discredit a woman for living in a mobile home as if that made her guilty of something while they harassed her.

      In this particular case, they clearly ambushed him and when he fought back against gun toting people that attacked him, he was shot dead.

      This is murder in my opinion based on the information available here.

  15. Looks fugged up to me. Unless there are truly extraordinary circumstances (and there haven’t been any presented, even by the people in the truck) then this is straight murder.

  16. Doesn’t look good for the two white guys. Even if they were right about his being a burglar, the most they were entitled to do was follow at a distance, to keep track of him, while calling for police to make the actual stop. As a former law enforcement, the father should have known better.

    I’d call this 2nd degree murder or voluntary manslaughter because I doubt there was premeditation. I believe their intention was to hold him for police. When he fought back instead of submitting, they didn’t know what to do other than shoot.

    Video could have been much better. (1) Keep the camera focused on the subject. Video of the nearby scenery contributes nothing. If there is danger of gunfire, get behind cover leaving just the camera exposed. (2) Hold the camera sideways so that the video is wider than it is tall.

    • Brush up on your Georgia law. They had immediate knowledge that this scumbag baroke into home. (They saw him on tape.) Under Georgia law, that makes their arrest lawful and use of lethal force to defend themselves reasonable.

  17. These idiots should have been arrested on the spot. They should be behind bars now at a very high bail or bail denied by the court.

    Going on a hunt and setting up an ambush is far beyond any concept of self defense, defending one’s property or making a citizen’s arrest of an immediate crime of which you are a witness.

    This was murder and so far the killers are receiving great deference from authorities that none of us could ever hope for.

      • There’s a post 3 or 4 up that gives an account from a local. It supplies info the news has seen fit to ignore.
        The dead guy had been breaking into houses often enough the neighborhood took measures to stop the thefts.
        I doubt it’s legal what transpired but it wasn’t wrong.

        • Can you prove it though? So allegedly, they suspected he matched a description.

          I doubt that will hold up in court. One thing we all need to remember.

        • They don’t have to prove jack shit. If they had reasonable cause to believe this was the guy breaking into homes… like say… a video… then their attempted arrest becomes lawful. Oh… wait… they have him on tape.

    • Not going to work. There is a difference between someone whose relatives file a report after he goes missing in a well populated area and an animal that nobody will miss after it disappears in a rural part of a fly over state.

      • The same local PD who originally declined to file charges would be in charge of the search. Missing persons and even murder cases have a low clearance rate.

  18. He may of had ear buds in and did not even understand them? Why would he continue toward them if he was trying to avoid them? Because a person is running doesn’t make him guilty! Looked like he was carrying a lot of construction goods!

  19. Looks very bad and malicious for the guys in the truck. When a firearm is pressed into use, you had better make sure you are using it for DEFENSIVE purposes. Otherwise, the law considers you the aggressor. There was also the (much better) choice of just dialing 911 on their phone to alert the police about the what the homeowners considered suspicious behavior. But, no. They chose to go on a burglar hunt. I hope they like striped clothing or orange jumpsuits.

  20. That camera man is a real pro – vertical video, wobbly, panning off to the side at critical moment…

  21. When keeping it real goes wrong. Look I am all for communities protecting themselves… but they clearly thought wrong and even if it had been him, your plan to prove it and detain him sucked. Rednecks should have just minded their own business. Even if he did charge them after being chased for who knows how long, he probably felt self defense was his only option. This is NOT a Trayvon Martin case, and this is NOT a didndonuffin. Lock these rednecks up.

    • Well said. These are the gun owners that make the rest of us look bad. So they should get double time just for that.

      • No way their assessment of the situation or attempt at identifying an alleged criminal will hold up in court. They will either spend tens of thousands of dollars for a very long period of time and leave it up to a jury of their peers (stupid), or plead guilty.

  22. This website is becoming infected with the Brady Bunch
    and Moms Demand Action. Everytown, must just be down
    the road.

    • What are you talking about? Those Karens would call the cops on that young black male for being in their neighborhood.

  23. Let’s not be too hard on those killer dudes. After all, they didn’t do anything that cops don’t do all the time.

  24. To all of you crying “bad shoot, bad shoot”…here’s my problem with labeling it as such. The deceased CLEARLY ran in front of the truck to intercept a CLEARLY armed person while another CLEARLY armed person was also in the immediate area. The deceased physically attacked the shooter which led to him being shot. Did the white guys create the situation? Sure. Was it stupid to do so? Absolutely. The deceased is the one that started the violence though.

    I can’t just run up to, punch, and grab the gun of every person who says “Stop, we want to talk to you”. I’m sorry, but that’s just not a typical reaction of someone who is of sound mind and not up to criminal activities. He wasn’t being physically detained. He wasn’t being held at gunpoint. He ran up to and attacked armed people and got shot.

    The proper response is to run away, or call the police, or comply until you have reason to not comply and not start assaulting the person. I’ve never chased someone down to confront them, but I have done it on my own property with gun displayed, but not pointed at anyone. If they ran up and started attacking me I’d shoot them in the face. Would that be considered a bad shoot? Because other than this happening off of their immediate property, its the same situation.

    • It’s called assault with a deadly weapon or brandishing. Some states will call it terroristic threats.

      You can’t suspect a person without witnessing the crime then point guns at them and chase them down for a little chat. You can’t follow them down the road and tell them to stop or else.

      They created the situation. They shot and killed a man.

      People have the right to defend themselves against aggression without due cause even when the aggressors have badges on their chest. Two white men chasing a black man down the road saying, “You better stop right there, boy,” is a good qualifier for one to fear for their life. There is no way a man is going to out run a bullet. You have to fight for the gun or use your own.

      You’re just one of those guys that would do the same thing those white entitled/privileged men did. You don’t want society to throw your ass in a cage when you do. Times are slowly changing thanks to diversity.

      • Not thanks to diversity.

        Thanks to cellphone cameras.

        Without cellphone cameras, it would probably be an entirely different story told.

        • California cops get away with murder all the time even when caught on camera because there isn’t diversity of thought in the justice system.

          In a diverse population the culture is not completely uniform, which enables different outcomes. If every jury was white men the results would be completely predictable. Add in all ethnicities and women, the results will surprise white men.

          Cameras are great, but the jury selection is more important.

        • So what you’re saying here chief censor is that white men cannot be fair, impartial or judge a case based on merit?

          That’s kinda racist, fellow.

        • @jwm

          It’s not racist to say white men in particular. It’s racist to say white people. I don’t include women, yes, white women too.

          You apparently don’t know American history. Women didn’t have a say in the construction and operation of the government in the U.S.. All women had to fight the white men to get their human rights respected. The non whites and the women had to fight the system that was created by European males (the people that Americans call “white”).

          Stop trying to defend yourself if you’re not guilty of attempting to continue the old system. The way you speak leads me to believe you are an older European/white male. No other person would speak/think like you.

        • Chief you get so off topic how do you even follow your own rants. All of us know the same history you do. We’ve made it very clear here. You are in fact slandering whites and portraying the majority of them to be racist.

          I don’t agree with the original poster you commented too, because he did not “Clearly run around the vehicle and charge” he was cut off and then defended himself. That is where it ends. You can paint the initial judgement of a suspected criminal as racist from these two if you want, because more than likely, it is. But when you start ranting like some BLM activist that all whites are guilty, you lose all credibility. Take that shit elsewhere.

      • If someone points a gun at me and says “they want to talk to me”, my thoughts are the conversation is going to be very one sided and no matter what I say their action is going to be the same.

        If there’s space and cover, run. If they are close enough, attack to subdue.

  25. Whites have been victims of black-on-white crime for too long.

    Who goes jogging in jeans below the knee?

    Black guy probably robbed their house. If you support the black guy, you’re part of the problem. Blacks need to know if they continue to terrorize white communities, they will get shot.

    • Since when do you grab your guns and chase a robber down the street, especially as it is pretty obvious he didn’t get anything. IF that is what happened, why weren’t the police called? A lot of excuses for absurd behavior.

      • When the police fail to catch the guy after the tenth break in it’s probably time to look for plan B. This guy had a long criminal history and was fleeing a neighborhood that had suffered a series of robberies.

        • What was he doing when “fleeing”? Prove your judgement. Good luck in court with them. “Probably” does not do so well when trying to provide beyond a reasonable doubt facts. No doubt the community was being targeted. No doubt something should have been done. But a vigilante patrol during broad daylight while riding in the back of a truck with guns at the ready and targeting a black man who had just came from a non finished under construction house? I think starting with “how to” home defense tactics would have been the first option for the community… not a lynch mob patrol. Lets be real here. It was a couple white rednecks with prior LEO privileges who thought it was a good idea to target the one black dude they saw, regardless of how they ACTUALLY made the assessment of “fitting the description”.

    • So historical wrongs, strike one.
      Jogging in jeans, strike two.
      “Probably” robbed their house, strike three.

      That’s just a mess you got stewing there.

      You need less quarantine in your life.

    • I hope a white man slits your throat in your sleep and you become a statistic of a non racial crime.

  26. Shades of yesterday’s post about someone chasing a burglar down and firing warning shots. At least that was still on his property.

    If you are stupid enough to chase someone out of your house and you end up shooting them, what do you expect?

    • You should expect a pat on the back from the police for saving the community from future break-ins .

      Sadly we don’t live in a just world.

      • They thought he was a criminal because he “fit the description” according to the killers. I don’t even think they were the victims of the crime they accused the black man of doing.

        Maybe if black people would simply stay out of white neighborhoods they wouldn’t have to worry about being lynched?

      • No and I can only hope sociopaths like you end up in prison BEFORE you get your chance to get your rocks off by killing someone.

    • They did not chase him out of the house, they thought he matched a video from a camera. Details are important.

  27. Typical Prosecutor in the South. Has to hand it to a Grand Jury as if he can’t figure it out himself and press charges. If the colors were reversed, he’d be all over it! Those boys need to go upriver for a long, long time.

    • In some states, serious crimes can only be prosecuted pursuant to a Grand Jury indictment. I believe that Georgia is one such state.

      Interestingly — the Grand Jury clause of the Fifth Amendment does not bind the states.

    • So you think a prosecutor in.. let’s say… NY, IL, or CA is superior in what way? Perhaps you could enlighten me…

      • They might not have to wait until public outcry to charge some good old boys for jumping in a pickup truck bed and lynching a black man who was committing the terrible crime of… jogging.

        • Probably not, but they will also certainly launch an overzealous prosecution of any man or woman who has the audacity to defend themselves with a firearm. Some of you strut around here like there’s no injustice in the north, or liberal parts of the country, because you have been incorrectly educated to believe the south is this wretched place of overflowing racism. You should probably research crime and law in your own area. What you find might surprise you.

  28. There shouldn’t be any rush to judgement on EITHER side, the young man is dead. I believe from what I have seen that the men committed murder, BUT NONE OF US KNOW EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENED. Only that a young man is dead and it must be brought to justice EITHER WAY, that means INVESTIGATION and COLLECTING ALL the evidence and letting the LEGAL court system handle this particular situation. I’ve already read TONS of “WHITE RACIST TRUMP SUPPORTER MURDERS BLACK MAN” HATE out there. They may very well have been white supremacists, they may have supported Trump, NEITHER has ANYTHING to do with what these two men appeared to have done to this young man and UNTIL ALL FACTS AND CIRCUMSTANCES are investigated and legally heard, MAKING ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT RACISM, WHO THEY VOTED FOR, IS JUST AS BAD AS WHAT HAPPENED. DON’T CREATE HATE AMONG EVERYONE because of what TWO people did to another HUMAN BEING! NO ONE should be allowed to chase down and shoot someone else like. I pray that today, this isn’t what it appears to be, that ANYONE could be hunted down and murdered like that. If these TWO men are guilty, are racist and did what it appears they did, they should be on death row, but that has NOTHING to do with who you support for POTUS, what party you belong to or inserting RACISM onto EVERYONE ELSE of an ethnic group. To all those SJW posters out there who easily forget, DEMOCRATS started the KKK, ran it, maintained it, NOT the Republicans and NOT POTUS Trump. I have no use for a RACIST, SUPREMACIST or HATER no matter what color, gender, background or religion or the DIVIDE they bring to all of us in this Nation.

    • Gus, + 1. A very well thought out post. I agree with most of it.

      If an error had to be made in this event, it would have been better
      to let the criminal have another day. What played out can not be
      changed and if so, most be proved the correct course of action.

  29. Nice find, pwrserge!! A lot of posters now look like
    absolute fools. And of course none will repost and
    admit to their foolish.

    We should all follow your 24 hour rule.

    • This was a lawful citizen’s arrest. The only criminal act was the shot scumbag breaking into other people’s homes and assaulting people trying to detain him. They’ll walk as soon as the security video they saw and used to ID him comes into evidence. Fucking blacktivists need to quit giving criminal lowlifes a pass just because of the color of their skin.

      • “This was a lawful citizen’s arrest.”

        Maybe or maybe not. But why would you charge
        someone holding a piece?? Whether right or wong
        it was a bad decision.

        BTW, this guy was not a person whom was “running” for
        exercise.

  30. One of the first comments pretty much summed it up; one of the guys was a former member of the law enforcement club, and they take care of their own. Anyone else would have been in handcuffs the same day.

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