Men convicted of hate crimes in murder of Ahmaud Arbery

The jury determined the three men's hatred of Blacks provoked them to kidnap and murder the young man when he was out jogging

By

National News

February 22, 2022 - 3:01 PM

Ahmaud Arbery's mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones On Nov. 24, 2021. (Stephen B. Morton/Pool/Getty Images/TNS)

BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) — The three white men convicted of murder in Ahmaud Arbery’s shooting were found guilty of federal hate crimes Tuesday in a verdict that affirmed what family members and civil rights activists said all along: that he was chased down and killed because he was Black.

The verdict — handed down one day before the second anniversary of Arbery’s death on Feb. 23, 2020 — was symbolic, coming just months after all three defendants were convicted of murder in a Georgia state court and sentenced to life in prison.

But family and community members viewed the hate crimes trial as an important statement. The case also became part of a larger national reckoning on racial injustice after graphic video of Arbery’s killing leaked online.

Related
February 23, 2022
November 26, 2021
November 24, 2021
May 8, 2020