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Ex-DA Jackie Johnson to Face Trial over Arbery Case Allegations

The former Brunswick District Attorney of Georgia, Jackie Johnson, is slated to face the courtroom over accusations of obstructing the inquiry into the fatal shooting of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery, a case that incited nationwide outcry against racial disparities. Jury picking is due to commence on Tuesday in preparation for Johnson’s trial, where she will confront allegations of office oath violation and hindrance following purported actions taken in the aftermath of Arbery’s killing in February 2020. Three Caucasian men were eventually declared culpable for state-sanctioned murder and federal hate crime charges. Among the trio was ex-investigator for Johnson’s office, Gregory McMichael, reportedly a direct plea for assistance came from him when his son was implicated in Arbery’s shooting upon an alleged pursuit in their area of residence.

Though Johnson did step away from the case, she now faces accusations from the Georgia Attorney General’s Office claiming she hindered a balanced handling of the case, and obstructed law enforcement officers from apprehending Gregory’s son, Travis McMichael. The ex-DA has in earlier occasions refuted any allegations of impropriety. Interestingly, it wasn’t until a video footage displaying the shooting gained attention two months post Arbery’s death that any arrests were made.

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Arbery’s cold-blooded killing, along with the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky, played a significant role in the series of racial justice protests that swept the nation in mid-2020. Once the jury has been selected, the trial’s opening statements shall ensue. In a bid to ensure panel impartiality, the court has sent out jury duty notifications to around 500 residents of Glynn County, a larger pool than the norm.

The death of Arbery occurred on February 23, 2020, while he was on a jog. The McMichaels, who claimed to the police that they suspected Arbery was involved in a potential string of burglaries, armed themselves before embarking on a pursuit upon spotting Arbery in their neighborhood. However, there were no accusations of any crime against Arbery. William “Roddie” Bryan, another man, also joined the chase and documented the fatal shooting incident on his mobile phone.

The released footage from May 5, 2020, glaringly displayed Travis McMichael shooting Arbery following a physical altercation over McMichael’s firearm. The McMichaels were arrested two days after the video attracted public attention, and Bryan’s apprehension occurred a fortnight later. The Cobb County district attorney’s office, located in the suburbs of Atlanta, was assigned the case approximately two months after Arbery’s shooting.

In November 2021, Travis McMichael was convicted of state charges of malicious murder and felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault, false imprisonment, and a charge for attempting to commit a felony. His father was relieved of malicious murder charges but was declared guilty on eight other counts. Bryan was handed a guilty verdict for felony murder, a count of aggravated assault, false imprisonment, and an attempt to commit a felony, but acquitted of several charges including malicious murder, felony murder involving aggravated assault with a firearm, and a count of aggravated assault with a firearm.

Following their conviction on state charges, the three men were sentenced to life imprisonment. They were later convicted on federal hate crime charges, which earned the McMichaels life sentences and Bryan a sentence of three and a half decades. It was during the same period when state Attorney General Chris Carr’s office requested the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to probe into the prosecutors’ handling of Arbery’s murder case.

Due to a previous professional association with Gregory McMichael, Johnson had stepped back from the case the day after the shooting occurred. Yet, it wasn’t until four days after Arbery had died – February 27, 2020 – that she requested the appointment of a replacement prosecutor. The DA of the adjacent Waycross judicial circuit was assigned in response to Johnson’s recommendation, yet that prosecutor appeared to hold information about his prior consultation with Johnson from Glynn County Police, where he expressed his decision not to arrest the McMichaels.

This same prosecutor would later recuse himself upon divulging that his son had an involvement in a past prosecution of Arbery, wherein Gregory McMichael played a part as well. When the Waycross prosecutor was assigned, the Attorney General’s Office was kept in the dark regarding his prior discussions and ties with Johnson.

Prosecutors have provided evidence to show that Johnson and Gregory McMichael engaged in 16 telephonic discussions from the day Arbery was slain until the notorious video surfaced. Incredibly, it seems McMichael reached out to Johnson from the actual crime scene, requesting her guidance in the unfolding situation.

In a development in September 2021, Carr’s office made public the grand jury indictment against Johnson on two counts: a violation of the oath of a public officer, carrying a potential one to five years in prison; and obstruction and hindrance of a law enforcement officer, a minor offence by comparison. In consideration of the first count, attention has been drawn to Johnson’s step back from the case and her recommendation of a new prosecutor, which she allegedly did without fully disclosing that she had sought his counsel on the matter.

Subsequent to the indictment announcement, the charges against Johnson implied that her actions constituted misconduct of her duties as district attorney, stating that she ‘knowingly and willfully hindered’ two police officers by directing them not to arrest Travis McMichael. By the time of these charges, Johnson had already suffered a defeat in her re-election bid, despite insisting on her innocence during her campaign.

However, her version of events was questioned as the trial against the McMichaels and Bryan took place in November 2021. Some Black residents from Brunswick voiced skepticism about her claims of innocence, opining that the investigation’s delay and subsequent arrests have not only highlighted, but also amplified, their distrust in the local judicial system.