Man who took video of Ahmaud Arbery shooting charged with felony murder

Protesters share their support for Ahmaud Arbery.

(Image credit: Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

published 21 May 2020

William Bryan, the man who recorded the deadly shooting of Ahmaud Arbery on Feb. 23, was arrested Thursday and charged with felony murder and criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said.

Arbery, an unarmed 25-year-old black man, was shot and killed while jogging through a Glynn County neighborhood. Gregory McMichael, 64, and his son, Travis McMichael, 34, were arrested earlier this month after the footage Bryan shot was posted online. The McMichaels pursued Arbery in a pickup truck, and then confronted him with "two firearms," the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said. "During the encounter, Travis McMichael shot and killed Arbery." Gregory McMichael claimed during a police interview that they believed Arbery was responsible for burglaries in the neighborhood.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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