Photo Credit: Ahmaud Arbery
We watched what happened early last year when Ahmaud Arbery was jogging and shot because two people took off in a truck after him playing police. The former Brunswick County, Georgia prosecutor Jackie Johnson was accused of showing favoritism to one of the defendents, Greg McMichael and blocking the arrest of his son Travis McMichael. And anyone could have seen that because it’s clear what happened. It was all filmed. She was indicted for violating her oath of office and obstructing a police officer in connection with the investigation.
The favoritism occurred because Michael used to be an investigator in her office. The indictment says she failed to “treat Ahmaud Arbery and his family fairly and with dignity”. The grand jury indictment said she took several actions in delaying their arrest.
Glynn County Attorney General Chris Carr presented the case to the grand jury saying in a statement Thursday, “Our office is committed to ensuring those who are entrusted to serve are carrying out their duties ethically and honestly.”
“We thank the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Glynn County Grand Jury for their hard work. While an indictment was returned today, our file is not closed, and we will continue to investigate in order to pursue justice,” he said.
Arbury’s attorney Lee Merritt said “from my perspective, this is historic.” He added, “We rarely see — and I’ve never seen — accountability for a prosecutor who interfered in an investigation.”
