Federal Judge Rejects McMichael Hate Crime Plea Deals In Ahmaud Arbery's Death

BRUNSWICK, GA — A federal judge refused to accept the plea bargain struck by the white father and son who killed Ahmaud Arbery in February 2020.

Travis McMichael and his father, Gregory McMichael, had brokered an agreement with federal prosecutors to allow them to forego a trial in federal court on hate crime charges in the death of the Black unarmed jogger.

News of the deal, however, caused Arbery's parents, Wanda Cooper-Jones and Marcus Arbery, to balk and ask U.S. District Judge Lisa Godbey Wood to reject the plea agreement.

Marcus Arbery told reporters outside the federal courthouse in Brunswick that he’s “mad as hell” over the deal, which lawyer Lee Merritt said could enable Travis and Greg McMichael to spend the first 30 years of their life sentences in federal prison, rather than state prison where conditions are tougher, the Associated Press reported.

“Ahmaud is a kid you cannot replace," Arbery said. “He was killed racially and we want 100 percent justice, not no half justice."

Cooper-Jones described the U.S. Justice Department’s decision to propose the plea deal despite her objections as disrespectful, the Associated Press reported.

“I fought so hard to get these guys in the state prison,” she said. “I told them very, very adamantly that I wanted them to go to state prison and do their time. ... Then I got up this morning and found out they had accepted this ridiculous plea.”

In rejecting the deal, U.S. District Judge Lisa Godbey Wood said it would have locked her into specific terms — including 30 years in federal prison — at sentencing. Wood said that in this case it would only be appropriate to consider the family’s wishes at sentencing, which the proposed deal wouldn’t allow.

Along with their neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan Jr., the McMichaels are set to face a federal trial next week on allegations they interfered with Arbery’s rights, attempted to kidnap him and threatened violence by brandishing a handgun and shotgun in violation of federal law when they chased him through their neighborhood on Feb. 23, 2020.

Federal prosecutors on Sunday filed paperwork declaring they had reached agreements with the McMichaels, according to court documents obtained by Patch. The details of the deals each man received were not immediately available, and the agreements still require court approval.

No plea considerations were made for Bryan.

On Feb. 23, 2020, the McMichaels armed themselves and set out in a pickup truck to chase Arbery, who was running past their home on Satilla Drive outside of Brunswick in coastal Glynn County. They believed he was responsible for thefts in the neighborhood and sought to make a citizen’s arrest invoking a Civil War-era law, which state legislators recently overhauled. Bryan got into his truck and joined the pursuit, filming the entire incident with his cell phone.

They eventually cornered the 25-year-old, and Travis McMichael shot Arbery three times with a pump-action shotgun, killing him.

A national outcry erupted when the graphic video leaked online two months later. Georgia was one of just four U.S. states without a hate crimes law at the time. Legislators quickly approved one, but it came too late for state hate crime charges in Arbery's killing.

A Glynn County jury found all three men guilty of murder and other charges, including aggravated assault, in November on the day before Thanksgiving. Travis McMichael, who claimed self-defense in the shooting, was convicted of malice murder, several counts of felony murder and aggravated assault, and false imprisonment.

Save for the malice murder charge, Gregory McMichael received the same guilty verdicts as his son. Bryan was found guilty of only three counts of felony murder and only one count of aggravated assault to go along with the false imprisonment charges.

Earlier this month, the McMichaels were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility for parole, while Bryan received a life sentence with a chance of parole.

All three will go before Judge Wood on Feb. 7.

— The Associated Press contributed.

Related:

• Ahmaud Arbery's Killers Sentenced To Prison For Vigilante Murder
• Ahmaud Arbery Verdict: 3 Defendants Convicted On Murder Charges
• 'Public Lynching': Defense Slams Ahmaud Arbery Rally, No Mistrial