Arbery’s shooter withdraws guilty plea on hate crime charge
By RUSS BYNUM
Associated Press
BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) — The man convicted of murder for shooting Ahmaud Arbery is withdrawing his guilty plea on a federal hate crime charge. Travis McMichael announced his decision Friday in U.S. District Court, electing to stand trial for a second time in Arbery’s 2020 killing. The reversal came days after a judge rejected terms of a plea deal between defense attorneys and prosecutors that was met with stiff objections by Arbery’s parents. His father, Greg McMichael, also backed down from a planned guilty plea. Arbery was killed with a shotgun in February 2020 after a chase through a Georgia neighborhood. Jury selection will begin Monday in the hate crimes case against the McMichaels and a neighbor.