1 00:00:02,033 --> 00:00:04,833 JUDY WOODRUFF: Public outcry and calls for arrests in the killing of an African-American 2 00:00:04,833 --> 00:00:08,266 man in Georgia more than two months ago are intensifying. 3 00:00:08,266 --> 00:00:13,266 As Yamiche Alcindor reports for our Race Matters series, the case drew widespread public attention 4 00:00:14,866 --> 00:00:18,233 after a video of the shooting was released earlier this week. 5 00:00:18,233 --> 00:00:22,466 YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Since then, Judy, the nation has become familiar with this name, Ahmaud 6 00:00:22,466 --> 00:00:27,466 Arbery. He was a 25-year-old black man chased and killed by at least two white men as he 7 00:00:28,866 --> 00:00:31,366 was jogging in a Georgia neighborhood on February 23. 8 00:00:31,366 --> 00:00:35,033 Two of those men, Gregory McMichael and Travis McMichael, said they pursued him because they 9 00:00:35,033 --> 00:00:39,400 believed he looked like a suspect in recent burglaries. Arbery was unarmed. 10 00:00:39,400 --> 00:00:43,900 The video shot from behind seems to show Arbery was trying to go around their truck. They 11 00:00:43,900 --> 00:00:48,400 then confronted him and later shot him. They told police he attacked them as they were 12 00:00:48,400 --> 00:00:50,466 trying to hold him and wait for police. 13 00:00:50,466 --> 00:00:54,733 His father, Marcus Arbery and his attorney, Benjamin Crump, join me now. 14 00:00:54,733 --> 00:00:56,866 Thanks so much for being here, both of you. 15 00:00:56,866 --> 00:01:01,833 Mr. Arbery, Ahmaud was your baby son. He was your youngest. He was also an athlete. He 16 00:01:02,466 --> 00:01:04,533 liked to run. 17 00:01:04,533 --> 00:01:07,800 Tell me a little bit about how often he ran the route that he ran in that Georgia neighborhood 18 00:01:07,800 --> 00:01:10,166 and whether or not he had any reason to fear for his life. 19 00:01:10,166 --> 00:01:12,733 MARCUS ARBERY, Father of Ahmaud Arbery: Well, he ran all the time. 20 00:01:12,733 --> 00:01:17,733 Everybody know he ran all the time. So I don't see why this happened to him, because that's 21 00:01:19,700 --> 00:01:24,400 all he did is ran and work out. He ran like three, four, five miles a day. Everybody know 22 00:01:25,866 --> 00:01:27,900 he ran. 23 00:01:27,900 --> 00:01:31,366 I don't know why they racially profile him and done him like that, because all he did 24 00:01:31,366 --> 00:01:36,366 is work out and ran and just took care of his body, because he had dreams now. Now all 25 00:01:37,766 --> 00:01:40,533 his dreams are gone, because they took his life for nothing. 26 00:01:40,533 --> 00:01:43,633 YAMICHE ALCINDOR: How familiar was this neighborhood to your son in particular? 27 00:01:43,633 --> 00:01:47,600 MARCUS ARBERY: He stayed right across the street. His mother had a house right across 28 00:01:47,600 --> 00:01:49,566 the street from that neighborhood. 29 00:01:49,566 --> 00:01:53,833 YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Ahmaud was very familiar with this neighborhood? He ran there often 30 00:01:53,833 --> 00:01:55,133 and ran this route often? 31 00:01:55,133 --> 00:01:57,133 MARCUS ARBERY: Yes, ma'am. 32 00:01:57,133 --> 00:02:00,666 YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Gregory McMichael followed your son because he said he looked like a 33 00:02:00,666 --> 00:02:03,666 burglary suspect. 34 00:02:03,666 --> 00:02:08,666 Ahmaud's mother also said that the police told her that her son and your son was killed 35 00:02:10,633 --> 00:02:13,666 during -- in the commission of a burglary and during a burglary and a struggle. 36 00:02:13,666 --> 00:02:16,933 What do you make of that, especially the police saying that about your child? 37 00:02:16,933 --> 00:02:20,133 MARCUS ARBERY: Well, they just -- it's just a lie and a cover-up, trying to justify everything 38 00:02:20,133 --> 00:02:22,233 when they're wrong. 39 00:02:22,233 --> 00:02:26,133 They know they done got caught up and they're wrong. The video speaking everything for itself. 40 00:02:28,133 --> 00:02:31,266 Check that lynch mob out. It's a lynch mob. So they're trying to cover up when they done 41 00:02:32,666 --> 00:02:34,966 messed up. They have been doing that for years. 42 00:02:34,966 --> 00:02:38,400 Corruption in this town is real bad with African-Americans. So he's been lynched. The video speak loud 43 00:02:40,400 --> 00:02:44,500 and plain as day. So, do their homework and do your job. Arrest these terrible people. 44 00:02:46,466 --> 00:02:50,133 Get them out of this -- get them off the streets, before they try to lynch anybody else kid. 45 00:02:52,133 --> 00:02:56,433 Get them off the streets. They need to be behind bars for a long, long, long time. Get 46 00:02:58,766 --> 00:03:00,966 them off the streets. 47 00:03:00,966 --> 00:03:03,333 We just want justice, and get them off the streets, because there ain't no room for them, 48 00:03:03,333 --> 00:03:05,066 not in a small town like this. 49 00:03:05,066 --> 00:03:07,966 YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Mr. Arbery is talking about a modern-day lynching. 50 00:03:07,966 --> 00:03:12,700 We have now seen two prosecutors recuse themselves. A third prosecutor says this needs to go to 51 00:03:12,700 --> 00:03:16,733 a grand jury. What do you want to see legally happened here? And do you believe there's 52 00:03:16,733 --> 00:03:18,333 any sort of arrest that might happen? 53 00:03:18,333 --> 00:03:20,866 BENJAMIN CRUMP, Attorney for Marcus Arbery: I do, Yamiche. 54 00:03:20,866 --> 00:03:25,866 The Georgia Bureau of Investigations has now taken over the case. And they have told us 55 00:03:28,366 --> 00:03:32,433 that they're going to look at the case with fresh eyes. We asked them not to rely on anything 56 00:03:34,500 --> 00:03:38,700 from the local officials from that Southeastern Georgia law enforcement community, because 57 00:03:41,200 --> 00:03:44,833 they are too close to Gregory McMichael, who worked as a former police officer and a detective 58 00:03:47,100 --> 00:03:49,966 for the district attorney for over 30 years. 59 00:03:49,966 --> 00:03:54,966 And so, if they look at it with fresh eyes, then they will have probable cause, simply 60 00:03:57,000 --> 00:04:01,066 based on this video that shows this horrific execution of Marcus' baby boy, his youngest 61 00:04:05,500 --> 00:04:10,500 son, who would celebrate his birthday tomorrow, had they not murdered him. 62 00:04:12,433 --> 00:04:15,766 And so we believe that they have the probable cause to arrest these -- I can't even think 63 00:04:19,733 --> 00:04:24,733 a father and son, a murderous duo. They have the probable cause right now to arrest them 64 00:04:26,666 --> 00:04:29,166 for the murder of Ahmaud Arbery. 65 00:04:29,166 --> 00:04:32,333 YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Do you also want to see a third man charged in this case, Mr. Crump? 66 00:04:32,333 --> 00:04:36,433 Do you want to see the man who shot the video also charged and arrested? 67 00:04:36,433 --> 00:04:38,500 BENJAMIN CRUMP: Certainly. 68 00:04:38,500 --> 00:04:42,666 The person who was in the vehicle helping them to chase Ahmaud Arbery just because the 69 00:04:46,400 --> 00:04:51,400 color of his skin, because we don't buy any of this allegation that he was committing 70 00:04:52,600 --> 00:04:54,900 a burglary. There's no evidence of that. 71 00:04:54,900 --> 00:04:59,900 He had a T-shirt on and shorts. He didn't have burglary tools or a mask or anything. 72 00:05:01,966 --> 00:05:05,633 He was simply a young man exercising. And as Mr. Marcus has said on many of occasions, 73 00:05:08,133 --> 00:05:12,700 if this was him and his son or mine, and they got on a truck with a shotgun and a .357 Magnum, 74 00:05:16,400 --> 00:05:21,400 and they chased a young white man who was jogging through the community in broad daylight, 75 00:05:22,800 --> 00:05:26,266 and he ended up dead, they would be arrested immediately. 76 00:05:26,266 --> 00:05:31,266 And anybody who aided and abetted them, anybody who videotaped them, or anybody who was with 77 00:05:33,200 --> 00:05:37,833 them would also be held accountable. So, why do we have two justice systems in America, 78 00:05:39,233 --> 00:05:41,566 one for blacks America and one for white America? 79 00:05:41,566 --> 00:05:46,566 YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Mr. Arbery, Trayvon Martin was killed on February 26, 2012. Your son 80 00:05:48,500 --> 00:05:51,266 was killed on February 23. They were -- they would have been almost the same age had they 81 00:05:51,266 --> 00:05:53,400 both lived. 82 00:05:53,400 --> 00:05:57,200 Did you talk to your son about Trayvon Martin? Did he understand and talk about this national 83 00:05:57,200 --> 00:05:59,533 conversation that we have been having around racism? 84 00:05:59,533 --> 00:06:04,533 MARCUS ARBERY: Yes. Yes. Yes. I talk to my children about that all the time. And they 85 00:06:05,733 --> 00:06:07,900 all thought that Trayvon Martin was murdered too. 86 00:06:07,900 --> 00:06:10,933 My children know. All three of them know. They know. 87 00:06:10,933 --> 00:06:14,766 YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Tell me about that. Tell me more how you talked to your son about Trayvon 88 00:06:14,766 --> 00:06:16,866 Martin. 89 00:06:16,866 --> 00:06:20,766 MARCUS ARBERY: I just told him that racism is pretty deep when you're a black African-American. 90 00:06:22,733 --> 00:06:26,933 You just got to -- you just can't fall in their hands, because they really set you up 91 00:06:28,933 --> 00:06:32,666 when you're racially profiled. They set you up to lure you where they want you at, and 92 00:06:32,666 --> 00:06:37,666 then they take your life. That's race and hate. I always told my kids about that kind 93 00:06:38,500 --> 00:06:39,500 of stuff. 94 00:06:39,500 --> 00:06:41,533 (CROSSTALK) 95 00:06:41,533 --> 00:06:43,533 YAMICHE ALCINDOR: And what do you want the nation to know about your son? 96 00:06:43,533 --> 00:06:45,966 MARCUS ARBERY: Yes, I just want the nation to know that he was a good boy, well-mannered, 97 00:06:45,966 --> 00:06:48,766 and he just loved the people. 98 00:06:48,766 --> 00:06:53,033 You know, he was the kind of young man that, if you needed a dollar, and he had one dollar, 99 00:06:53,033 --> 00:06:54,733 he gave it to you. 100 00:06:54,733 --> 00:06:56,300 YAMICHE ALCINDOR: And now you want to see justice for your son? 101 00:06:56,300 --> 00:06:58,333 MARCUS ARBERY: Definitely. 102 00:06:58,333 --> 00:07:03,233 I just want to see this lynch mob behind bars, where they belong at, because if you don't 103 00:07:05,233 --> 00:07:07,333 put them behind bars, where they belong, they're going to find a way to kill again. And there 104 00:07:07,333 --> 00:07:09,466 ain't no room for that in this little small town. 105 00:07:09,466 --> 00:07:13,766 YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Well, Mr. Arbery, Mr. Crump, thank you so much for joining me. I appreciate 106 00:07:13,766 --> 00:07:14,766 you both coming on. 107 00:07:14,766 --> 00:07:16,000 MARCUS ARBERY: Thank you. 108 00:07:16,000 --> 00:07:18,033 BENJAMIN CRUMP: Thank you, Yamiche. 109 00:07:18,033 --> 00:07:22,666 JUDY WOODRUFF: And a note: We are reaching out to police, prosecutors, and the McMichaels 110 00:07:24,100 --> 00:07:26,133 to see if they will speak to us as well in coming days.