3 men accused in Ahmaud Arbery killing plead not guilty to hate crime charges

3 men accused in Ahmaud Arbery killing plead not guilty to federal hate crime charges

Three white Georgia men already facing state murder charges for allegedly tracking down and fatally shooting Ahmaud Arbery as the 25-year-old Black man jogged through their neighborhood in 2020 all pleaded not guilty Tuesday to federal hate crime charges. Gregory McMichael, his son Travis McMichael and their neighbor William "Roddie" Bryan were arraigned in federal court in Brunswick, Georgia. The men appeared at the hearing without defense lawyers, and each asked to be represented by a public defender. They are being held in custody without bond. During the Tuesday hearing, U.S. Magistrate Judge Benjamin Cheesbro read the federal complaint against the three men, which alleges they “did willfully, by force and threat of force, injure, intimidate and interfere with Ahmaud Arbery, an African American man, because of his race and color.”