BRUNSWICK, Ga. — The three men charged with murdering Ahmaud Arbery will face a judge in less than two weeks on federal hate crime and attempted kidnapping charges.
A federal grand jury indicted Gregory and Travis McMichael and William Roddie Bryan on the new charges Wednesday. Arbery's father, Marcus Arbery Sr., said the charges bring him relief.
"It took a lot of strain off of my heart and I know it took a lot of strain off of his mama’s heart and justice is heading in the right direction," Arbery Sr. said.
"There’s really one law and you’ve got to treat everybody equal. I don’t care what color you are or where you’re from, you’ve got to be treated equal and you know, that’ll make this world a better place and you know people can live and walk and free," he said.
Arbery Sr. said he didn't expect the federal charges.
"I just thank God that the Feds were still on the job. The Feds kept on the investigation ... the Feds, I got to tip my hat on. They really did the job. I just want to tell each and everyone of them that was on my son’s case, I give them my heart for doing such a wonderful job," Arbery Sr. said.
Georgia didn't have a hate crime statute when Arbery was killed. The law was signed in June, four months after his death. His father said the new charges give him hope that his son will get justice.
“It’s headed in the right direction now. [We] Got those federal charges on them now. That’s pretty rough on them," Arbery Sr. said. "That’s what we wanted."
"We already knew it was a hate crime from the jump, but God put his foot in there and got us what he wanted and got those federal hate charges. That’s what we wanted. That’s what our family wanted," he said. "Maybe it will wake up all the rest of them to get off their hate, get off their racist hate. Let them know that they can get punished like everybody else," he said.
No trial date is has been set in the state's case against the three men charged. They'll appear in court for the state's next hearing right after the federal hearing. The federal hearing is set for May 11 in Brunswick. The state hearings are set for May 12 and May 13.
Jason Sheffield, one of the attorneys representing Travis McMichael, said the language in the indictment is "identical, essentially, to the state charge, without mention of any new or additional evidence that would warrant a concurrent prosecution”
Sheffield said this subjects the three men charged to dual prosecutions in two separate courts at the same time.
"[That] could totally derail all the work that we've done in the Superior Court of Glynn County. I hope it does not. I hope that the says will respect the process that we are going through," Sheffield said.
"It's not a surprise that an indictment has come down. What is surprising is that they have indicted him for essentially the same thing. We feel like this is just further action by the government to continue to push the same square peg through the round hole, Sheffield said.”
Kevin Gough, attorney for Bryan, issued a statement that reads as follows:
“We are very disappointed with the decision of the Department of Justice to pursue the prosecution of Mr. Bryan. Roddie Bryan has committed no crime. We look forward to a fair and speedy trial, and to the day when Mr. Bryan is released and reunited with his family.”