Judge to seat jury in trial of ex-prosecutor accused of shielding Ahmaud Arbery’s killers

Jan 28, 2025 Story by: Editor

BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) — Attorneys presented opposing arguments before a trial jury Tuesday regarding whether former prosecutor Jackie Johnson misused her authority to shield the men responsible for the fatal shooting of Ahmaud Arbery in a quiet Georgia neighborhood nearly five years ago.

At the time of the incident on February 23, 2020, Johnson served as the district attorney for Glynn County, located on the Georgia coast. Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man, was chased by white men in pickup trucks after they falsely assumed he was a thief. The pursuit ended with one of the men fatally shooting Arbery at close range with a shotgun.

Despite the grave nature of Arbery's death, more than two months passed before any arrests were made. The breakthrough came when cellphone footage of the shooting was leaked online. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation subsequently took over the case from local law enforcement, leading to charges and eventual convictions of the men involved in Arbery's murder.

In 2021, Johnson was charged with felony violation of her oath of office and a misdemeanor for allegedly hindering the police investigation into Arbery's death.

During the trial, a jury was seated, and nearly two hours of opening statements were heard, including remarks from both a prosecutor from Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr's office and Johnson's lead defense attorney.

Prosecutor John Fowler argued that local police initially misinformed Arbery's mother, falsely claiming her son was killed while committing a home invasion. He suggested that while Arbery’s family struggled to get accurate information, Johnson was focused on assisting Greg McMichael, who had retired from his role as an investigator in Johnson’s office. Greg's son, Travis McMichael, was the one who shot Arbery. Fowler emphasized that Greg McMichael reached out to Johnson for help shortly after the shooting.

“She put the interest of her former chief investigator and her longtime friend ahead of a victim," Fowler told the jury.

Brian Steel, Johnson's lead attorney, firmly denied the allegations, asserting her innocence. He argued that the only advice Johnson provided to Greg McMichael was to “Get a lawyer.” Steel added that Johnson promptly recused herself from the case and handed it over to an external prosecutor. He further blamed local police for jumping to conclusions about Arbery’s death, initially assuming he was a burglar and the shooting was in self-defense.

“Jackie has done nothing to put her finger on the scales of justice,” Steel said.

Steel also explained that Johnson believed Arbery was a burglar because that was the narrative presented by law enforcement, and she was shocked when the video of the shooting emerged, revealing a very different situation.

The jury was selected after delays caused by a rare winter storm that blanketed the Brunswick area in snow and ice. Senior Judge John R. Turner expects the trial to last at least two weeks. This trial is being held at the same courthouse where Arbery's killers were convicted of murder in 2021. The men were also convicted of federal hate crimes in a separate trial the following year.

Greg McMichael and his son Travis McMichael, armed with firearms, pursued Arbery in a pickup truck after spotting him running past their home. Neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan joined the chase in his own truck and recorded the infamous cellphone video of the shooting.

“My son and I have been involved in a shooting, and I need some advice right away,” Greg McMichael said in a voicemail left on Johnson’s cellphone, which was later included in court records.

Prosecutors contend that Johnson abused her power by securing the appointment of an external prosecutor, George Barnhill, who had already advised police against making arrests in the case. Fowler argued that Johnson intentionally concealed this information to avoid public knowledge that Barnhill had already determined that Arbery's death was not a criminal act.

“She intentionally withheld information so that nobody would know that George Barnhill had already decided the case,” Fowler said.

Steel defended Johnson’s actions, explaining that she sought Barnhill’s advice the day after the shooting due to her conflict of interest regarding her relationship with Greg McMichael. However, he denied that Johnson recommended Barnhill when she later sought the attorney general’s appointment of an outside prosecutor.

“Jackie doesn’t recommend anybody,” Steel told the jury. "You’ll see the letter.”

In addition to the charges related to her involvement in the case, Johnson was indicted in September 2021 for allegedly hindering the police investigation by "directing" officers not to arrest Travis McMichael. Fowler did not mention any specific directives from Johnson to police during his opening statement. Steel, on the other hand, promised that recorded interviews with police investigators would show no such instruction came from Johnson.Johnson, who had served as district attorney for Glynn County for ten years, was voted out of office in November 2020 following the public outcry over the Arbery case. She attributed her defeat to the controversy that erupted surrounding the incident. Source: US News