This past Monday on Valentine’s Day, the “hate crime” trial for the convicted murderers of Ahmaud Arbery began in Brunswick, a small coastal community in southeast Georgia. This should not be overlooked either locally or by the larger national audience. It holds great promise for what should be a wake-up call about who we are collectively as a nation.
As many of you know, three white men, Travis and Greg McMichael and Rodney Bryan were finally convicted this past November 24 for murdering Ahmaud Arbery, a young black man, as he jogged in their neighborhood back in February 2020. The brutal crime which resulted in the shooting of Arbery twice at close range with a .12 gauge shotgun was initially covered up by local authorities, but eventually broke and caused a national outrage.
This trial against the defendants was brought by the Department of Justice in April of 2021. Under the 2009 Shepard Byrd Hate Crimes Act passed by the Obama administration it is a crime “to willfully cause bodily injury, or attempt to do so using a dangerous weapon, because of color, religion, or national origin.” This is what is going on right now in Brunswick; the first trial addressed the guilt of the defendants in the murder.
Those of you keeping up with this news, know that the Arbery family has been adamant in bringing the “hate” trial to fruition so that the real nature of the murder is out in plain sight for all to see – that it was a murder based on race and race alone.
We, as a people, need to face this.
I’m hoping for a one way ticket to the US Prison in Florence, CO for all three!
Let El Chapo deal with them!
Thanks for your comment. If they are convicted, this case will become a landmark decision!