Ahmaud Arbery Day Prayer Vigil, Observance Set In Cobb County

COBB COUNTY, GA — Feb. 23 will always be known as Ahmaud Arbery Day in Georgia thanks to a new state resolution, and Cobb County District Attorney's Office — the legal home of Linda Dunikoski, the lead prosecutor in the trial that convicted Arbery's killers — is hosting a prayer vigil and observance of the day.

At 2 p.m. Wednesday, the DA's office will host the prayer vigil at Marietta Square, 99 S. Park Square NE, Marietta. The prayer vigil will feature community and faith leaders who will discuss the significance of the day and the need to stand against hate, according to a news release.

Georgia lawmakers penned a state resolution earlier this month to designate Feb. 23 as Ahmaud Arbery Day.On that day, Georgians are encouraged to run or walk 2.23 miles to join with those advocating for racial equality.

Feb. 23 was the date in 2020 when Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man, was chased down, trapped, and shot and killed by three white men — Gregory McMichael, his son Travis McMichael and their neighbor William "Roddie" Bryan Jr. — in pick-up trucks as he was running through a neighborhood in coastal Glynn County.

Bryan and the McMichaels invoked the state's citizen's arrest law to justify chasing Arbery. At the request of Gov. Brian Kemp last spring, state lawmakers passed amendments to the law outlawing vigilante justice by civilians. The state legislature also voted a hate crimes bill into law.

The three men were found guilty of murder in November 2021 for chasing and cornering Arbery as he ran through the Satilla Shores neighborhood. While the McMichaels had guns, Bryan did not, and instead shot video of the pursuit and subsequent shooting.

All three men received life sentences in January, and were found guilty of federal hate crimes on Tuesday by a federal jury — a day before the two-year anniversary of Arbery's killing.

After the federal trial, Arbery's mother and father, Wanda Cooper-Jones and Marcus Arbery, celebrated a victory for their son and said the verdicts should act as a message for others.

"If they make the same driveway decisions the McMichaels made, then they'll be going to the same place as them," Cooper-Jones said.

Marcus Arbery smiled and said, "Justice for Ahmaud," and echoed Cooper-Jones' warning to those who might choose to act upon prejudiced, racist or hateful sentiments.

"If they think like the McMichaels, the same thing is going to happen to them," he said.

Related:

• Guilty Verdict Reached In Ahmaud Arbery Federal Hate Crimes Trial
• Ahmaud Arbery Day To Be Recognized Feb. 23 In GA
• Ahmaud Arbery's Killers Sentenced To Prison For Vigilante Murder
• Ahmaud Arbery Verdict: 3 Defendants Convicted On Murder Charges