Three white men convicted of killing a black jogger in Georgia have been found guilty of federal hate crimes on Tuesday February 22.
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Jurors found the defendants targeted Ahmaud Arbery, 25, because of his race.
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The men, Gregory McMichael, 66 his son Travis, 36, and their neighbour, William Bryan, 52, had already been found guilty last year of Arbery\’s murder.
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Tuesday\’s verdict was over a separate set of federal charges filed by the US Justice Department.
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Arbery was jogging in the coastal city of Brunswick when he was confronted and ultimately killed, by the three men in February 2020.
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The jurors in this latest trial – a panel of eight white people, three black people, and one Hispanic person,  considered five separate federal charges and found the defendants guilty on every count.
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The first two involved federal hate-crime statutes, and charged the three men of using force and threats to deprive Arbery of his right to use a public street because of his race. The third count charged the men with kidnapping.
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The McMichaels also faced firearms charges. Travis McMichael was convicted of discharging a shotgun and his father was convicted with brandishing a revolver.
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They may be sentenced to life in prison – in addition to the life sentences they already received in January for Arbery\’s murder.
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The federal convictions come just one day short of the two-year anniversary of Arbery\’s death.
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During closing arguments on Monday, lawyers for the three defendants argued that the men pursued Arbery because they believed he was involved in criminal activity – not for any racially motivated purpose.
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\”Would Travis McMichael have grabbed a gun and done this to a white guy?\” asked defence lawyer Amy Lee Copeland at trial. \”The answer is yes.\”
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But the jurors accepted the prosecution\’s argument that McMichaels and Bryan were driven by \”racial assumptions, racial resentment, and racial anger\”.
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Outside the Georgia courthouse, Arbery\’s family and civil rights attorney Ben Crump celebrated the first federal hate crime conviction in the US state\’s history.
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Arbery\’s mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones said she \”knew that we would get victory\” but added that \”we as a family will never get victory because Ahmaud is gone forever\”.
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Ms. Cooper-Jones also criticized the Department of Justice for seeking a plea deal with the McMichaels. Last month, a US judge rejected the deal, saying she was not willing to be bounded to the agreement\’s terms.
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At a news conference later on Tuesday, US Attorney General Merrick Garland said the justice department will use its resources to \”confront unlawful acts of hate\”.
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\”No one in this country should have to fear the threat of hate-fueled violence,\” he said, adding \”no one should fear that if they go out for a run they will be targeted and killed because of the colour of their skin\”.