Bond denied for father, son charged in Ahmaud Arbery slaying
This photo combo of images taken Thursday, May 7, 2020, and provided by the Glynn County Detention Center, in Georgia, show Gregory McMichael, left, and his son Travis McMichael. A prosecutor on Wednesday, June 24, 2020 announced that three men have been indicted on murder charges in the killing of Ahmaud Arbery in coastal Georgia. Speaking to reporters outside the Glynn County courthouse, prosecutor Joyette Holmes said a grand jury has indicted Travis McMichael, Gregory McMichael and William “Roddie” Bryan Jr. on charges including malice and felony murder in the death of the African American man. (Glynn County Detention Center via AP)
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BRUNSWICK, Ga. (NewsNation Now) — A Georgia judge Friday denied bond for a father and son jailed on murder charges in the February shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery, saying he’s concerned the white men took the law into their own hands and endangered neighbors when they pursued and shot the Black man in a residential street.
Travis McMichael and his father, Gregory McMichael, have been jailed since their arrests in May, more than two months after Arbery was slain. The McMichaels, who are white, chased and fatally shot the 25-year-old Black man after they spotted him running in their neighborhood just outside the port city of Brunswick.
Defense attorneys for the McMichaels say the men had legal rights to go after Arbery because they had reason to suspect he was a burglar. They also contend Travis McMichael was defending himself when he blasted Arbery three times with a shotgun because cellphone video of the shooting shows Arbery punching him and grappling for the gun.
Prosecutors say Arbery was no criminal but was merely out jogging and the McMichaels acted as “vigilantes” motived by racist views. They also showed the judge photos of a home near the shooting scene that was damaged by gunfire.
“You can interpret the video in a number of different ways,” Superior Court Judge Timothy Walmsley told attorneys while denying the men bond at the hearing Friday. “But the video tells me there’s a significant risk and danger to the community”
Questions about whether racism played a role in the killing sharpened during a previous hearing when an investigator testified that a third defendant, who took cellphone video of the shooting, told authorities he heard Travis McMichael, 34, utter a racial slur after he blasted Arbery three times with a shotgun.
The hearing over the bond requests for the pair begin Thursday and continued into Friday.
Defense attorneys for both McMichaels have denied any racist motives in the shooting.
The McMichaels weren’t arrested until the cellphone video of the shooting leaked online and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation took over the case. In June, a grand jury indicted both McMichaels and a neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan, on charges.
Each is charged with malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, false imprisonment and criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment.
BRUNSWICK, GA – JULY 17: A mural depicting Ahmaud Arbery on July 17, 2020 in Brunswick, Georgia. Gregory McMichael, Travis McMichael, and William ‘Roddie’ Bryan appeared before a judge for the murder of Ahmaud Arbery. (Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images) 
BRUNSWICK, GA – JUNE 04: T-shirts memorializing George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery are displayed for sale on a car hood outside the Glynn County courthouse during a court appearance by Gregory and Travis McMichael, two suspects in the fatal shooting of Ahmaud Arbery, on June 4, 2020 in Brunswick, Georgia. Arbery was killed on February 23. (Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images) 
BRUNSWICK, GA – MAY 09: Demonstrators watch a parade of passing motorcyclists riding in honor of Ahmaud Arbery at Sidney Lanier Park on May 9, 2020 in Brunswick, Georgia. Arbery was shot and killed while jogging in the nearby Satilla Shores neighborhood on February 23. (Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images) 
BRUNSWICK, GA – MAY 08: Demonstrators hold signs at a memorial for Ahmaud Arbery near where he was shot and killed May 8, 2020 in Brunswick, Georgia. Gregory McMichael and Travis McMichael were arrested the previous night and charged with murder relating to the February 23 shooting in the Satilla Shores neighborhood. (Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images) 
BRUNSWICK, GA – MAY 08: Demonstrators protest the shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery at the Glynn County Courthouse on May 8, 2020 in Brunswick, Georgia. Gregory McMichael and Travis McMichael were arrested the previous night and charged with murder. (Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
In seeking bond, defense attorneys for the McMichaels said neither would flee or pose a threat of further violence. They cited Travis McMichaels’ decade as a U.S. Coast Guard mechanic as proof of his character.
The killing stirred a national outcry in a year marked by protests over racial injustice.
The Associated Press and NewsNation affiliate WSAV contributed to this report.
