Ahmaud Arbery’s Mother And Attorney Discuss Case On Tamron Hall

MARIETTA, GA — The "Tamron Hall Show" on Monday featured Ahmaud Arbery’s mother and her attorney to discuss the case involving a 25-year-old who was chased down and fatally shot while jogging through his Satilla Shores neighborhood in Brunswick, Georgia on Feb. 23.

Retired police detective Gregory McMichael, 64, and Travis McMichael, 34, were arrested May 7 by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, two days after the agency took over the case from local authorities. A Cobb County district attorney was appointed.

Wanda Cooper-Jones told Hall that she believes that the local authorities attempted to cover up Arbery's death.

“The murder happened before the social distancing came into effect," Cooper-Jones said. "I think what took so long was my son’s death was going to be covered up. I don’t think that the virus had a big part in it at all.”

After Arbery’s death, it took exactly 74 days before Gregory and Travis McMichael were arrested and charged in connection to the murder. The fatal shooting was captured in a viral video. The arrest happened a day later and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation took over the case.

Cooper-Jones said she thinks the delay in leading to an arrest had to do with the district attorney’s office.

“I think they played a major part on the time that it took to get attention. I mean, they knew about the murder the day that it happened, and they failed to do anything about it,” she said.

The family’s attorney, Lee Merritt, is handling the case for Cooper-Jones and believes the man who shot that video, William "Roddie" Bryan, played a role in the killing.

“Right now, we know that he recorded this video from a very close proximity,” Merritt said. “According to his attorney, he was home one minute and within minutes he was behind Ahmaud Arbery with his cell phone, recording his ambush. His response to this very loud, violent shotgun shots repeatedly, and someone being murdered in front of him, was silence. He just kept recording. You didn’t hear him gasp. He didn’t cut off the camera. He didn’t intervene. He didn’t honk his horn. And we believe that is because he knew what was about to happen and he played a role in it.”

Merritt, was asked by Hall what they think may happen next in the case.

“We want to figure out who else played a role in that assault, who else could have prevented this from happening,” he said. “The investigations by the DOJ into the police department, into the district attorney’s office – we’re hoping that that will bear fruit. We are hoping that the federal government moves forward with hate crime charges against the McMichaels.”

Justice for Arbery is all Cooper-Jones said she wants.

SEE MORE:

• Ahmaud Arbery Case: 911 Call By Accused Killer Released
• Ahmaud Arbery: Fatal Shooting Case Assigned To Cobb Prosecutor