This archive report was first published on 11 May 2020.
Published on May 11, 2020, the Georgia Attorney General's office announced the appointment of Joyette M. Holmes as the new prosecutor in the Ahmaud Arbery case.
Ms. Holmes, a seasoned prosecutor from Cobb County, will oversee the prosecution of Gregory McMichael, 64, and his son Travis McMichael, 34, who were charged with murder and aggravated assault after they pursued and fatally shot Ahmaud Arbery in a pickup truck.
The case drew national attention and sparked protests after a video of the fatal encounter circulated online. The release of the video last week set off a wave of public pressure calling for the McMichaels to be arrested and for criminal charges to be brought.
Ms. Holmes, the first African-American to serve as district attorney in Cobb County, will bring the resources of one of Georgia's largest prosecutor's offices to bear in the case.
She replaces Tom Durden, who called in the Georgia Bureau of Investigation after the men were arrested roughly two days after the video's release.
The Justice Department has also launched an investigation into whether to bring federal hate crime charges in the case.
