This Tele-Town Hall is occurring on the third anniversary of the killing of Ahmaud Arbery by three white vigilantes in Brunswick, Georgia. Ahmaud Arbery, an avid runner, was running in the white community of Satilla Shores when he was killed by three white racist men. It should be noted that Ahmaud committed no crime.
Gregory McMichael, the father of Ahmaud’s killer, had previously worked for the Glynn County State’s Attorney Jacqueline Johnson. On the day that Ahmaud was hunted down, pinned in and shot at point blank range, Gregory McMichael called State’s Attorney Jacqueline Johnson asking for her assistance and advice because he and his son, Travis, had killed Ahmaud Arbery.
The killing of Ahmaud was done at point blank range, such that powder residue from the muzzle of the 12 gauge shotgun was visible on the blood stained tee shirt that Ahmaud was wearing. The shotgun used to kill Ahmaud at point blank range was the type of shotgun that could kill an elephant.
State’s Attorney Jacqueline Johnson, who was running uncontested for her bid for re-election as the State’s Attorney for Glynn County, directed Glynn County Police Officers not to arrest the three killers. It is believed that she further directed Gregory McMichael to go home and clean Ahmaud’s blood off of his body.
State’s Attorney Johnson would lie to Marcus Arbery, Ahmaud’s father, about how the killing occurred, placing Ahmaud at fault as committing a crime and being the aggressor before the killing. After realizing State’s Attorney Johnson’s lies, the Arbery family and residents of Glynn County sought to acquire signatures on a petition to have an additional candidate placed on the ballot to run against State’s Attorney Jacqueline Johnson. The Arbery family and community were successful in securing the number of signatures necessary to place another candidate into the race. As a result, for the first time in Glynn County’s history, an incumbent Prosecutor was defeated in an election. Evenmore, because of the direct action of the Arbery family and the Brunswick community, in 2023, former Brunswick State’s Attorney Jacqueline Johnson will stand trial in Glynn County Superior Court for charges of Violating her Oath of Office and Obstructing a Police Officer.
The persistence of the Arbery family and the Glynn County community demonstrates that not only is “all politics local,” but “all voting is local” too. This Tele-Town Hall commemorating the death of Ahmaud Arbery is also a celebration of the right to vote and a lesson in the power of the local ballot box.
