Ahmaud Arbery Shooter Withdraws Guilty Plea on Hate Crime Charge

Travis McMichael — the man who was convicted of murder for shooting Ahmaud Arbery in February 2020, while the 25-year-old Black man was jogging in Georgia — has withdrawn his guilty plea on a federal hate crime charge, and will stand trial for a second time.

As reported by The Associated Press, Travis — who was previously sentenced in state court to life in prison plus an additional 20 years without the possibility of parole for Ahmaud’s murder— reversed his plan to plead guilty in the federal case regarding Ahmaud’s allegedly racially motivated killing.

“I withdraw the plea,” Travis said Friday when asked by U.S. District Judge Lisa Godbey Wood for his decision.

Travis’ change of plea comes after Wood rejected terms of a plea deal on Monday. In the deal agreed upon by prosecutors and defense attorneys, Travis and his father Gregory — who was also sentenced in state court to life in prison plus an additional 20 years without the possibility of parole — would serve a 30-year sentence that would include a request to transfer the McMichaels from Georgia’s state prison system to federal custody. The deal also would have required the McMichaels to admit their racist motives and to forfeit the right to appeal their federal sentence.

Ahmaud’s parents objected to the plea deal, arguing that the conditions in federal prison would not be as harsh. Wood ultimately rejected the deal because she said it would have locked her into a specific sentence.

In a legal filing late Thursday, Gregory also reversed course, deciding not to plead guilty to a hate crime.

On Monday, Travis, Gregory, and their neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan — who was sentenced in state court to life in prison with the possibility of parole for Ahmaud’s murder — will return to court.

Jury selection for the hate crimes trial will begin Monday.

In a statement obtained by The Associated Press, Ahmaud’s father Marcus Arbery Sr. told reporters, “All we want is 100% justice for the Arbery family. That’s all we’re looking for.”

Last November, a jury found Travis, Greg, and William guilty of Ahmaud’s murder after 12 hours of deliberation.

While Travis — who allegedly fired three shots from a shotgun at Ahmaud — was found guilty of malice murder, four counts of felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault (with a firearm and with a pickup truck), false imprisonment, and criminal attempt to commit a felony (false imprisonment), Gregory — who allegedly watched the shooting while standing in the bed of a pickup truck — was found guilty of four counts of felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault (with a firearm and with a pickup truck), false imprisonment, and criminal attempt to commit a felony (false imprisonment).

Gregory was found not guilty of malice murder.

William — who filmed the incident on his cell phone and, according to Gregory, “attempted to block” Ahmaud as he ran — was found guilty of three counts of felony murder, one count of aggravated assault (with a pickup truck), false imprisonment, and criminal attempt to commit a felony (false imprisonment). He was found not guilty of malice murder, not guilty of one count of felony murder, and not guilty of one count of aggravated assault (with a firearm).

Per their lawyers, Travis and Gregory were justified in pursuing Ahmaud because they suspected he was a burglar. Attorneys also argued that Travis acted in self-defense after Ahmaud allegedly tried to wrestle his shotgun away.

However, in June of last year, an investigator testified that he found no evidence that Ahmaud stole anything from a construction site he walked through before he was shot and killed.