The three Brunswick, Georgia white men charged in the death of Ahmaud Arbery are now charged with federal hate crimes connected with his death.
On Thursday, the Department of Justice(DOJ) announced Travis McMichael, 35; Travis's father, Gregory McMichael, 65; and William "Roddie" Bryan, 51, were each charged with one count of interference with rights and with one count of attempted kidnapping.
In a press release announcing the hate crime charges, the DOJ also stated the following:
In addition to the hate-crime charges, Count Three alleges that all three defendants attempted to unlawfully seize and confine Arbery by chasing after him in their trucks in an attempt to restrain him, restrict his free movement, corral and detain him against his will, and prevent his escape. Counts Four and Five allege that during the course of the crime of violence charged in Count One, Travis used, carried, brandished, and discharged a Remington shotgun, and Gregory used, carried, and brandished a .357 Magnum revolver.
The men are have also been charged in a separate state case with malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, and criminal attempt to commit a felony.
Earlier this week, a new lead prosecutor was assigned to take over the Ahmaud Arbery murder case. The announcement was made after current prosecutor Jesse Evans shared that he is leaving the district attorney's office and Cobb County's Linda Dunikoski will take over the position.
No trial date has been set for the state case, and the men are set to appear in court on May 12th and 13th.
After Ahmaud, Arbery was shot and killed on February 23, 2020, while out for a jog in Brunswick. L. Chris Stewart, the family's attorney, spoke with our news team in May 2020 about the case.
Currently, the three defendants remain in the Glynn County jail.