Gregory McMichael, age 64, and Travis McMichael, age 34, were arrested by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) on May 7 and booked in the Glynn County Jail over the February 23 murder of Arbery. A follow-up press conference on the matter will be held in Brunswick, Georgia, at 9 a.m. local time by the GBI, according to the bureau's Facebook post.
The graphic footage, which has been described as a "modern day lynching," shows the two men chasing after the 25-year-old in the last moments leading up to his death.
A previous report filed in the Glynn County Police Department (GCPD) and obtained by NBC News alleged that the "unidentified male began to violently attack Travis and the two men then started fighting over the shotgun."
Two shots were fired amid the struggle and Arbery is seen falling to the ground in the video.
His life was precious, too soon and to callously ended by evil. We must take a stand to stop this. A mosaic of color linked arm in arm is what we’ve needed so desperately to end such travesties. #AhmaudArbery. pic.twitter.com/1K23dBYB5H
— Abdu Murray (@AbduMurray) May 8, 2020
Despite the incident occurring back in February, the now-viral video did not make it to social media until around May 5, prompting the GCPD to launch a separate investigation into its public release.
After making rounds on social media, netizens, activists, family members of Arbery and also celebrities such as Kim Kardashian shared a petition advocating for justice in the murder of the 25-year-old. So far, the petition has reached over 123,500 signatures.
Many individuals view the murder and lack of initial charges against the accused as race-related.
“If this had been two black men who shot a white man, you can rest assured that they would have been arrested right on the spot,” Atlanta, Georgia, activist Estevan Hernandez told Radio Sputnik’s Loud & Clear on Thursday.
“It also needs to be put into the context of the history of Georgia, the history of racist violence in the state, the legacy of the Jim Crow South - which was defeated but still exists in many different ways with mass incarceration and police violence down here - and the legacy of slavery that was organized."
Warning: Video contains content that some audiences may find offensive.
I am trembling with anger over what I just witnessed. CLICK AWAY if you need to.
— Shaun King (@shaunking) May 5, 2020
We need ALL HANDS ON DECK.
This is the lynching of Ahmaud Arbery.
It’s one of the worst things I’ve seen in my entire life.
🆘Meet us now @ https://t.co/AIYI5FD2sn to demand justice. pic.twitter.com/7cqn3q737M
