JUDY WOODRUFF: Public outcry
and calls for arrests in the
killing of an African-American
man in Georgia more than two
months ago are intensifying.
As Yamiche Alcindor reports
for our Race Matters
series, the case drew
widespread public attention
after a video of the shooting
was released earlier this week.
YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Since then,
Judy, the nation has become
familiar with this name, Ahmaud
Arbery. He was a 25-year-old
black man chased and killed by
at least two white men as he
was jogging in a Georgia
neighborhood on February 23.
Two of those men, Gregory
McMichael and Travis
McMichael, said they
pursued him because they
believed he looked like a
suspect in recent burglaries.
Arbery was unarmed.
The video shot from behind
seems to show Arbery was trying
to go around their truck. They
then confronted him and later
shot him. They told police
he attacked them as they were
trying to hold him
and wait for police.
His father, Marcus Arbery
and his attorney, Benjamin
Crump, join me now.
Thanks so much for
being here, both of you.
Mr. Arbery, Ahmaud was your
baby son. He was your youngest.
He was also an athlete. He
liked to run.
Tell me a little bit about how
often he ran the route that he
ran in that Georgia neighborhood
and whether or not he had any
reason to fear for his life.
MARCUS ARBERY, Father
of Ahmaud Arbery: Well,
he ran all the time.
Everybody know he ran all the
time. So I don't see why this
happened to him, because that's
all he did is ran and work out.
He ran like three, four, five
miles a day. Everybody know
he ran.
I don't know why they racially
profile him and done him
like that, because all he did
is work out and ran and just
took care of his body, because
he had dreams now. Now all
his dreams are gone, because
they took his life for nothing.
YAMICHE ALCINDOR: How familiar
was this neighborhood to
your son in particular?
MARCUS ARBERY: He stayed right
across the street. His mother
had a house right across
the street from
that neighborhood.
YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Ahmaud
was very familiar with this
neighborhood? He ran there often
and ran this route often?
MARCUS ARBERY: Yes, ma'am.
YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Gregory
McMichael followed your son
because he said he looked like a
burglary suspect.
Ahmaud's mother also said that
the police told her that her
son and your son was killed
during -- in the commission
of a burglary and during a
burglary and a struggle.
What do you make of that,
especially the police saying
that about your child?
MARCUS ARBERY: Well, they
just -- it's just a lie
and a cover-up, trying
to justify everything
when they're wrong.
They know they done got caught
up and they're wrong. The video
speaking everything for itself.
Check that lynch mob out. It's
a lynch mob. So they're trying
to cover up when they done
messed up. They have been
doing that for years.
Corruption in this town is real
bad with African-Americans.
So he's been lynched.
The video speak loud
and plain as day. So, do their
homework and do your job.
Arrest these terrible people.
Get them out of this -- get them
off the streets, before they
try to lynch anybody else kid.
Get them off the streets. They
need to be behind bars for
a long, long, long time. Get
them off the streets.
We just want justice, and get
them off the streets, because
there ain't no room for them,
not in a small town like this.
YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Mr.
Arbery is talking about
a modern-day lynching.
We have now seen two
prosecutors recuse themselves.
A third prosecutor says
this needs to go to
a grand jury. What do you want
to see legally happened here?
And do you believe there's
any sort of arrest
that might happen?
BENJAMIN CRUMP, Attorney for
Marcus Arbery: I do, Yamiche.
The Georgia Bureau of
Investigations has now
taken over the case.
And they have told us
that they're going to
look at the case with
fresh eyes. We asked them
not to rely on anything
from the local officials from
that Southeastern Georgia law
enforcement community, because
they are too close to
Gregory McMichael, who
worked as a former police
officer and a detective
for the district attorney
for over 30 years.
And so, if they look at it
with fresh eyes, then they will
have probable cause, simply
based on this video that shows
this horrific execution of
Marcus' baby boy, his youngest
son, who would celebrate
his birthday tomorrow,
had they not murdered him.
And so we believe that they have
the probable cause to arrest
these -- I can't even think
a father and son, a murderous
duo. They have the probable
cause right now to arrest them
for the murder of Ahmaud Arbery.
YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Do you also
want to see a third man charged
in this case, Mr. Crump?
Do you want to see the
man who shot the video
also charged and arrested?
BENJAMIN CRUMP: Certainly.
The person who was in the
vehicle helping them to chase
Ahmaud Arbery just because the
color of his skin,
because we don't buy
any of this allegation
that he was committing
a burglary. There's
no evidence of that.
He had a T-shirt on and
shorts. He didn't have burglary
tools or a mask or anything.
He was simply a young man
exercising. And as Mr. Marcus
has said on many of occasions,
if this was him and his
son or mine, and they
got on a truck with a
shotgun and a .357 Magnum,
and they chased a young white
man who was jogging through the
community in broad daylight,
and he ended up dead, they
would be arrested immediately.
And anybody who aided
and abetted them, anybody
who videotaped them,
or anybody who was with
them would also be held
accountable. So, why do we have
two justice systems in America,
one for blacks America
and one for white America?
YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Mr. Arbery,
Trayvon Martin was killed on
February 26, 2012. Your son
was killed on February 23. They
were -- they would have been
almost the same age had they
both lived.
Did you talk to your son
about Trayvon Martin?
Did he understand and
talk about this national
conversation that we have
been having around racism?
MARCUS ARBERY: Yes. Yes. Yes.
I talk to my children about
that all the time. And they
all thought that Trayvon
Martin was murdered too.
My children know. All three
of them know. They know.
YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Tell me about
that. Tell me more how you
talked to your son about Trayvon
Martin.
MARCUS ARBERY: I just told him
that racism is pretty deep when
you're a black African-American.
You just got to -- you just
can't fall in their hands,
because they really set you up
when you're racially profiled.
They set you up to lure you
where they want you at, and
then they take your life.
That's race and hate. I always
told my kids about that kind
of stuff.
(CROSSTALK)
YAMICHE ALCINDOR: And what
do you want the nation
to know about your son?
MARCUS ARBERY: Yes, I just
want the nation to know that he
was a good boy, well-mannered,
and he just loved the people.
You know, he was the kind of
young man that, if you needed a
dollar, and he had one dollar,
he gave it to you.
YAMICHE ALCINDOR: And
now you want to see
justice for your son?
MARCUS ARBERY: Definitely.
I just want to see this lynch
mob behind bars, where they
belong at, because if you don't
put them behind bars, where they
belong, they're going to find
a way to kill again. And there
ain't no room for that in
this little small town.
YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Well,
Mr. Arbery, Mr. Crump,
thank you so much for
joining me. I appreciate
you both coming on.
MARCUS ARBERY: Thank you.
BENJAMIN CRUMP:
Thank you, Yamiche.
JUDY WOODRUFF: And a note: We
are reaching out to police,
prosecutors, and the McMichaels
to see if they will speak to
us as well in coming days.