Latest news with #AhmaudArbery
Washington Post
22-07-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Their killings sparked a racial reckoning. Here's what happened since.
Five years ago, the high-profile killings of three Black Americans sparked a national reckoning over racial inequality and police conduct. In the spring and summer of 2020, protesters flooded the streets demanding justice for the victims. Two of the deaths were caused by police officers, prompting calls for accountability and an end to police brutality and practices that protesters said were abusive. To many Americans, the three unrelated cases were symptomatic of the unique threats and risks that face Black Americans. Ahmaud Arbery was chased by three armed White men in pickup trucks while jogging through a Georgia neighborhood in February and was shot to death. Breonna Taylor was killed by a White police officer in March while in her bed in Louisville during a botched police raid. And George Floyd died in May in Minneapolis after being pinned to the ground under the knee of a White police officer as he gasped for air. On Monday, former Louisville police officer Brett Hankison was sentenced to 33 months in prison for violating Taylor's civil rights during the raid. The Trump administration had sought only a one-day sentence, suggesting he should not have faced civil rights charges. Hankison is one of nine people who have been convicted of at least some charges in connection with the three deaths. Many jurisdictions passed police-accountability laws after the killings of Floyd and Taylor, both of whose families sued and received large financial settlements. But some of those accountability measures have been rolled back, and the Justice Department under President Donald Trump has moved away from federal investigations of police. Here's a rundown of what has happened in the aftermath of all three killings: Travis McMichael, his father Greg McMichael, and their neighbor William 'Roddie' Bryan were convicted on multiple charges in Arbery's death, including state felony murder and federal hate crimes, and sentenced to life in prison. The McMichaels' sentences included no possibility of parole. A separate grand jury indicted former district attorney Jackie Johnson after she was accused of obstructing the investigation into Arbery's death. A judge tossed the oath of office charge against Johnson and ordered her acquitted of the obstruction charge in February 2025, ending the trial before it went to the jury. Georgia lawmakers passed hate crimes legislation and repealed the citizen's arrest law, which had been used to justify the 25-year-old's shooting death. Two former Louisville police officers have been convicted in connection with the botched police raid that led to Taylor's death on March 13, 2020. Hankison was found guilty in November of violating Taylor's civil rights. Jurors found he used excessive force by firing 10 shots through Taylor's apartment window and door, both covered with shades and curtains. He was acquitted on a second charge of violating the rights of three neighbors. Kelly Goodlett pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy charges in August 2022, admitting that she helped falsify the search warrant used in the raid and lied to investigators to cover up the act. She is awaiting sentencing and is expected to testify against fellow Louisville officers Joshua Jaynes and Kyle Meany, who were also charged with falsifying the search warrant affidavit. Their trial date has not yet been set. Goodlett faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison; it's not clear whether the Justice Department will change its posture in her, Jaynes's or Meany's cases, as it did for Hankinson's. Louisville police detective Myles Cosgrove and officer John Mattingly, who fired a combined 22 shots during the raid, with Cosgrove firing the shot that killed Taylor, have not been charged. Kentucky's then-Attorney General Daniel Cameron said the two men were justified in opening fire after Taylor's boyfriend Kenneth Walker shot at them. Louisville city officials have reached a $12 million settlement with Taylor's family, agreed to pay $2 million to Walker, and approved 'Breonna's Law,' which bans local police from using no-knock warrants. In 2021, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) signed a bill into law limiting their use. Four former Minneapolis officers have been convicted in connection with Floyd's May 25, 2020, death. Derek Chauvin, who knelt on Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes, was sentenced to 22½ years for a state murder charge and 20 years on a federal charge of violating Floyd's civil rights. He is serving the sentences concurrently as part of a federal plea deal and is in a federal prison in Texas, according to federal inmate records. Former officers J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas K. Lane and Tou Thao, who were present at Floyd's death, were convicted on state charges of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter and federal charges of violating Floyd's civil rights. They also were allowed to serve their sentences concurrently. Lane was released from federal prison in August and Keung in January. Both are under supervised release, according to court documents. Thao is set to be released Nov. 3, according to federal inmate records. The city of Minneapolis in 2021 agreed to pay $27 million to Floyd's family to settle a wrongful-death lawsuit. The city in 2023 reached a nearly $9 million settlement with two people who filed suits accusing Chauvin of pressing his knee into their necks during arrests years Floyd's death. After Floyd's killing, lawmakers across the country passed hundreds of ordinances, including bans on chokeholds and no-knock warrants, although some were rolled back amid fear of increased crime. A national police reform bill failed in Congress. In Minneapolis, city officials funded alternatives to policing, such as behavioral crisis response teams, a community safety center and a community commission on police oversight. City officials also entered a consent agreement with the Justice Department, under President Joe Biden, in an effort to curb excessive force and racial discrimination. However, the agency dropped its support for the consent decree after Trump took office.
Washington Post
23-05-2025
- Washington Post
Black Lives Matter street murals stand as an enduring reminder of protests against racism
In 2020, after a summer of protests rocked U.S. cities, the words 'Black Lives Matter' went from the rallying cry of racial justice demonstrators to words lining the very roads along which they marched. After the deaths of George Floyd , Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery , towns and cities nationwide commissioned artists to paint BLM street murals in solidarity with the reckoning on police brutality and racism prompted by the unprecedented, multiracial mass rallies.
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- Yahoo
Ahmaud Arbery Foundation launches campaign to honor his legacy ahead of 31st birthday
The Brief The Ahmaud Arbery Foundation is launching a new campaign to honor Arbery's life, coinciding with what would have been his 31st birthday. Arbery's mother is encouraging donations of $31 to support scholarships, youth leadership camps, and mental health programs. The three men convicted of Arbery's murder have requested a new trial. ATLANTA - The foundation formed in memory of Ahmaud Arbery is launching a new campaign to honor his life, just weeks before what would have been his 31st birthday. Arbery's case captured national attention after he was shot and killed while running through a Brunswick neighborhood on Feb. 23, 2020. His mother later founded the Ahmaud Arbery Foundation, which works to raise money for causes that reflect his legacy and is dedicated to keeping Arbery's memory alive. The backstory Arbery was 25 years old when he was killed. Father and son Greg and Travis McMichael chased and shot Arbery, while their former neighbor, William "Roddie" Bryan, joined the pursuit and recorded the encounter. All three men were sentenced to life in prison. Dig deeper Ahead of May 8, the day Arbery would have turned 31, his mother is encouraging supporters to donate $31 to fund scholarships, youth leadership camps, and mental health programs focused on investing in young people's futures. She hopes for every board member to be able to give away up to $31,000 in $31 increments. What they're saying "I tell people all the time that Ahmaud was killed in the year 2020 during the COVID pandemic when we were all shut indoors, and people were paying attention. But now, it's five years later, and everything is almost back to normal. But we cannot forget what happened," said Arbery's mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones. What's next The three men convicted in his death have since requested a new trial. What you can do You can learn more about the Ahmaud Arbery Foundation and its fundraisers on its website. SEE ALSO: Ahmaud Arbery murder 5 years later: Atlanta runners gather in his memory Trial over for former Georgia prosecutor in Ahmaud Arberry case Georgia men who killed Ahmaud Arbery asking court for new trial Runners preparing for 2nd annual Run with Maud in Atlanta Ahmaud Arbery's killers asking court to overturn hate crime convictions The Source FOX 5's Kim Leoffler spoke with Wanda Cooper-Jones, mother of Ahmaud Arbery, for this article. Previous FOX 5 Atlanta reports were also used.
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ahmaud Arbery's Mother Says Removal of D.C.'s BLM Mural Is Bad Omen
A Black mother who lost her son before the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement says the removal of BLM Plaza in our nation's capital is a sign the country is in a bad place. Ahmaud Arbery's mom, Wanda Cooper Jones, tells TMZ ... the removal of the BLM mural in Washington, D.C. "feels like a bad omen" and she says it serves as "a reminder of how fragile progress can be." Wanda says BLM was never about murals, monuments, or symbolic gestures ... it's always been about accountability, justice and meaningful change -- but she doesn't like the change being made here. As we reported ... Jamie Foxx says Black American social efforts are taking a step back as a result of President Trump pressuring D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser to remove the mural under threat of losing federal funding. Arbery was murdered in February 2020 while out for a run in Georgia ... and video of his murder at the hands of 3 white men sparked widespread outrage. BLM really took off after George Floyd was murdered by a white cop months later, sparking summer protests nationwide ... but Arbery's case remains a big part of the movement ... as does Breonna Taylor's death. The Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown killings also prompted the early beginnings of the BLM cause. Lee Merritt, an attorney who has worked with the families of Arbery, Floyd and Taylor, tells TMZ ... "Justice isn't measured in murals -- it's measured in laws, accountability, and protecting Black lives." On that front, Merritt says ... "Accountability came when the men who murdered Ahmaud were sentenced to life. Reform came with the passage of the Ahmaud Arbery Hate Crimes Act. And policy change came when Georgia repealed the vigilante defense they used to justify their actions."
The Guardian
27-02-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Protesters throng Iowa capitol to decry bill to roll back trans rights protections
Amid a heavy police presence and hundreds of vocal protesters, Iowa lawmakers on Thursday considered an unprecedented bill that would strip the state civil rights code of protections based on gender identity, a move opponents say could expose transgender people to discrimination in numerous areas of life. Both the house and senate were expected to vote on the legislation on Thursday, the same day the Georgia house backed away from removing gender protections from the state's hate crimes law, which was passed in 2020 after the death of Ahmaud Arbery. Iowa's bill, first introduced last week, raced through the legislative process, despite opposition from LGBTQ+ advocates who rallied at the Capitol on Monday and Tuesday. On Thursday, opponents of the bill filed into the capitol rotunda with signs and rainbow flags to rally before, during and after a 90-minute public hearing, shouting, 'No hate in our state!' There was a heavy police presence, with state troopers stationed around the rotunda and hearing room. Of the 167 people who signed up to testify at the public hearing before a house committee, all but 24 were opposed to the bill. Each time a person who had spoken opened the hearing room door to leave, the roar of protesters outside filled the room, forcing repeated pauses. To avoid delays, state troopers blocked off the hallway outside the room, creating a 'natural buffer', said the department of public safety commissioner, Stephan Bayens. The move was intended to allow the public hearing to proceed while also protecting first amendment rights to demonstrate, Bayens said. In Iowa, gender identity was added to the civil rights code in 2007 when Democrats controlled the legislature. If removed, Iowa would be the first state to undo explicit non-discrimination protections based on gender identity, said Logan Casey, director of policy research at the Movement Advancement Project. In Georgia, the changes to the hate crimes law were proposed in a bill that would restrict sports participation for transgender students. That is something the state's high school athletic association now does by policy but that Republican leaders insist needs to be in law and also apply to colleges and universities. A Georgia house committee rewrote the bill at the last minute on Wednesday to leave the word 'gender' in the state's hate crimes law after Democrats warned removing the word could end extra penalties for crimes motivated by bias against transgender people. Iowa's bill would remove gender identity as a protected class and explicitly define female and male, as well as gender, which would be considered a synonym for sex and 'shall not be considered a synonym or shorthand expression for gender identity, experienced gender, gender expression, or gender role'. Supporters of the change say the current code incorrectly codified the idea that people can transition to another gender and granted transgender women access to spaces such as bathrooms, locker rooms and sports teams that should be protected for people who were assigned female at birth. Iowa Republicans say their changes are intended to reinforce the state's ban on sports participation and public bathroom access for transgender students. If approved, the bill would go to the Republican governor, Kim Reynolds, who signed those policies into law. A spokesperson for Reynolds declined to comment on whether she would sign the bill. V Fixmer-Oraiz, a county supervisor in eastern Johnson county, was the first to testify against the bill. A trans Iowan, they said they had faced their 'fair share of discrimination' already and worried that the bill would expose trans Iowans to even more. 'Is it not the role of government to affirm rather than to deny law-abiding citizens their inalienable rights?' Fixmer-Oraiz said. 'The people of Iowa deserve better.' Among those speaking in support of the bill was Shellie Flockhart of Dallas Center, who said she was in favor as a woman and a mother, a 'defender of women's rights' and someone 'who believes in the truth of God's creation'. 'Identity does not change biology,' Flockhart said. About half of US states include gender identity in their civil rights code to protect against discrimination in housing and public places, such as stores or restaurants, according to the Movement Advancement Project, an LGBTQ+ rights thinktank. Some additional states do not explicitly protect against such discrimination but it is included in legal interpretations of statutes. Iowa's supreme court has expressly rejected the argument that discrimination based on sex includes discrimination based on gender identity. Several Republican-led legislatures are also pushing to enact more laws this year creating legal definitions of male and female based on the reproductive organs at birth following an executive order from Donald Trump. Trump also signed orders laying the groundwork for banning transgender people from military service and keeping transgender girls and women out of girls and women's sports competitions, among other things. Most of the policies are being challenged in court.
