Ahmaud Arbery's killers to appeal their federal hate crime convictions Wednesday

March 26th, 2024

This combination of photos shows, from left, Travis McMichael, William "Roddie" Bryan, and Gregory McMichael during their trial at the Glynn County Courthouse in Brunswick, Ga. On Friday, March 3, 2023, the three white men serving prison sentences in the 2020 killing of Ahmaud Arbery asked an appeals court to throw out their federal hate crime convictions, with two of them arguing their histories of making racist comments do not prove they targeted Arbery because he was Black. (AP Photo/Pool, File)

A federal appeals court in Atlanta will hear arguments Wednesday, March 27, in the case of three white men convicted of killing Ahmaud Arbery in 2020.

The 25-year-old Black man was chased and gunned down while jogging in a neighborhood in south Georgia by father and son Greg and Travis McMichael and their neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan.

The trio was found guilty of hate crime charges in U.S. District Court less than three months after they were convicted of murder in a Georgia state court.

Both McMichaels received life prison sentences in the hate crimes case, while Bryan was sentenced to 35 years in prison.

Bryan’s lawyer says his conviction should be overturned, because his history of making racist comments does not prove he targeted Arbery because he was Black.

Bryan and Greg McMichael’s attorneys claim they chased Arbery thinking he was a criminal.

Meanwhile, Travis McMichael’s lawyer is appealing on a technicality over whether or not the killing happened on a public street.

Organizations like the Georgia NAACP, Black Voters Matter and Transformative Justice Coalition are expected to hold a rally for Arbery after the court hearing at 9 a.m.

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is at 56 Forsyth St. NW in Atlanta.