Jacquelyn Lee Johnson admitted that she knew the McMichaels for decades and is accused of using her position to hinder their arrests.
The slaying of Ahmaud Arbery is back in the headlines today (September 2) following the news that a former district attorney is facing charges. It was back in February 2020 when Arbery was jogging in his Georgia neighborhood and two men, father and son Gregory and Travis McMichael, spotted the 25-year-old on the road. They armed themselves, got into their pickup truck, and followed Arbery, harassing him along the way.
When they blocked off Arbery’s path and stopped their truck, a confrontation would prove to be deadly. The McMichaels are adamant that they believed Arbery was a burglar terrorizing their neighborhood, and when the young man tried to defend himself, he was shot and killed.
Handout / Getty Images
Former prosecutor Jacquelyn Lee Johnson was initially on the case but days following the tragedy, she recused herself because former police officer George McMichael had reportedly been “an investigator in her office for more than 30 years” prior to his retirement in 2019, states NBC News. However, authorities now claim in an indictment that Johnson, who lost in her 2020 re-election, showed “favor and affection to Greg McMichael during the investigation.” Johnson is also accused of telling two officers that Travis McMichael shouldn’t be arrested.
Waycross Judicial Circuit District Attorney George E. Barnhill’s name is also entangled in the controversy because he was who Johnson reportedly recommended to take her place once she stepped down from the case. Johnson was reportedly charged with “violation of oath of public officer and obstruction of a police officer.”
Both McMichaels and their neighbor who filmed Arbery’s death, William “Roddie” Bryan, have all been charged with felony murder and have insisted that they are not guilty. It is unclear what Johnson’s penalty may be if she is convicted.
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