‘Killed in cold blood’: Biden calls for justice in shooting death of black Georgia man
Former vice president Joe Biden is speaking out on the shooting death of an unarmed black man in South Georgia.
Biden, the Democrats’ likely pick for the presidential nominee, has joined a chorus of voices calling for justice in the killing of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery, who was shot by two white men while out for a jog in a Brunswick subdivision in late February.
Video of the fatal shooting leaked online late Tuesday, sparking widespread outrage.
“The video is clear: Ahmaud Arbery was killed in cold blood,” Biden wrote on Twitter. “My heart goes out to his family, who deserve justice and deserve it now. It is time for a swift, full, and transparent investigation into his murder.”
Father-son duo Gregory McMichael, 64, and Travis McMichael, 34, are accused in the Feb. 23 shooting, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The two men told police they suspected Arbery in a string of burglaries in the Satilla Shores subdivision and, taking up arms, pursued him in their pickup truck after spotting him jogging.
The video shows Arbery, still jogging, trying to bypass the truck before he’s confronted by one of the armed men. Words are exchanged and a struggle ensues. Moments later, shotgun blasts ring out.
Brunswick radio station WGIG posted the “graphic, disturbing” video showing the young man’s final moments. In a statement, the station said it received the clip from an “anonymous source” and “determined it was in the best interest of the public” to release it.
The footage sparked a flood of angry reaction from leading voices, including Biden, who demanded action in what they considered to be a racially charged case.
“#AhmauadArbery was killed Two. Months. Ago. The only reason this case is being seen by fresh eyes is because of outcry & video,” writer and activist Brittany Packnett Cunningham tweeted. “NEVER tell us to wait again. It almost always means never.”
She concluded her post with a quote from author James Baldwin that read: “How much time do you want for your progress?”
Sportswriter Jemele Hill tweeted: I saw the Ahmaud Arbery video hours ago on @AttorneyCrump’s timeline and was sickened, disgusted and horrified. An unarmed black man being executed for doing nothing but existing is sadly called Tuesday in this country.”
“Every single white person who considers themselves an ally or anti-racist needs to be bringing attention to the murder of Ahmaud Arbery and rebuking white supremacy,” author Frederick T. Joseph wrote, adding: “If you’re being complicit, you’re also the problem.”
It’s undisputed that Travis McMichael, whose father is a recently retired investigator with the Brunswick District Attorney’s office, fatally shot Arbery shortly after 1 p.m., according to News4Jax. Glynn County police declined to charge McMichael, however, after the man argued he acted within the scope of a citizens arrest, the station reported.
Initial reports by local authorities claimed Arbery was in the middle of burglarizing a home when he was confronted and shot by the homeowner. Critics, including Arbery family attorney S. Lee Merritt, said the video directly contradicts those claims.
In a Wednesday news conference, Merritt likened the victim’s death to a “modern-day lynching.”
He echoed that message in an MSNBC interview, telling host Al Sharpton: “What you have is three southern Georgian, white citizens who essentially put together a posse and lynched a man in broad daylight.”
After the release of the video Tuesday, Tom Durden, District Attorney Pro Tempore for the Brunswick Judicial Circuit, ruled that a grand jury should be left to decide whether to bring charges against Travis and Gregory McMichael.
“I am of the opinion that the case should be presented to the grand jury of Glynn County for consideration of criminal charges against those involved in the death of Mr. Arbery,” Durden said in a news release.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation also announced that it was launching a formal investigation into the shooting at Durden’s request.
By Wednesday afternoon, the hashtag #JusticeforAhmaudArbery was the top trending topic on social media.
This story was originally published May 6, 2020 at 11:59 AM with the headline "‘Killed in cold blood’: Biden calls for justice in shooting death of black Georgia man."