SAVANNAH, Ga. — A federal judge has set a trial date in early 2022 for the three Georgia men charged with hate crimes in the killing of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery, the Associated Press reports.
According to a written order from U.S. District Court Judge Lisa Godbey Wood, jury selection in the case will begin Feb. 7, 2022.
But first, the three men are scheduled to stand trial on Oct.18, 2021 on murder charges in the Glynn County Superior Court in Georgia. Father and son Gregory McMichael and Travis McMichael and their neighbor William "Roddie" Bryan - face murder charges in Arbery's death after authorities said they chased, shot, and killed him.
Arbery, a Black man, was running through Satilla Shores neighborhood in Glynn County on Feb. 23, 2020, when father and son Gregor and Travis McMichael began chasing him. William "Roddie" Bryan joined in the chase and began filming a video of the incident from his car.
The video taken by Bryan shows Travis got into a fight with Arbery, as he tried to run around the McMichaels' stopped car blocking the road, and shot him. Surveillance video from surrounding properties later showed Arbery wasn't doing anything out of the ordinary when the McMichaels began chasing him.
The men were indicted on federal hate crime charges in April. The indictment charged the McMichaels with separate counts of using firearms during that crime of violence.
According to the Justice Department, counts one and two of the April 2021 indictment allege that the defendants used force and threats of force to intimidate and interfere with Arbery’s right to use a public street because of his race.
Their attorneys said they committed no crimes.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.