Ahamud Arbery killer pleads not guilty to hate crime charges after plea deal rejected

Lawyers for Gregory McMichael, one of three men convicted in the slaying, and federal prosecutors said both sides were "ready for trial" and the plea deal was "null and void."

One of two men whose plea bargain on federal hate-crimes charges in the murder of Ahmaud Arbery was rejected by a judge last week has decided to proceed to trial rather than seek a new deal with prosecutors, court documents showed on Thursday.

Lawyers for Gregory McMichael and federal prosecutors filed a joint notice of withdrawal of McMichael’s plea agreement, saying the deal is “null and void” and that both sides were “ready for trial,” reaffirming his original plea of not guilty.

The case docket in U.S. District Court in Brunswick, Georgia, also showed that a change-of-plea hearing scheduled for McMichael on Friday had been canceled.

McMichael, 66, and his son, Travis, 36, were both sentenced in state court last month to life in prison without parole for their convictions on murder and other charges in the February 2020 shotgun slaying of Arbery, 25.

A co-defendant, neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan, 52, was sentenced to life with eligibility for parole after 30 years. All three men are white.

Arbery, who was Black, was shot to death by the younger McMichael after all three defendants had chased him down in pickup trucks as he jogged through the suburban neighborhood they shared.

The jury rejected claims by the McMichaels’ lawyers that their clients were seeking to make a citizen’s arrest of Arbery, whom they suspected of criminal activity, and had acted in self-defense when they confronted him.

The father and son subsequently reached a deal with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for southern Georgia to plead guilty to federal hate-crimes charges and receive a 30-year sentence.