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An online petition demanding justice for Ahmaud Arbery has surpassed 690,000 signatures as of May 8, which would have been Arbery's 26th birthday.
The murder of Arbery garnered national attention this week after a widely circulated video showed the 25-year-old black jogger, who was on a routine run in Brunswick, Georgia, being fatally shot on February 23. The two white men involved in the shooting were identified as Gregory McMichael and Travis McMichael, a father and son, who claimed they were acting in self-defense. However, Arbery was unarmed at the time of the shooting.
"No one has the right to pursue, attack and kill an unarmed, non-threatening individual. Ahmaud's voice will be heard," the petition reads.
The Change.org petition is one of the many calls to action that ignited after the video went viral. Around the country, people have shown solidarity using the hashtag #IRunWithMaud. Public figures, including Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and several civil liberty organizations have demanded an investigation. On Thursday, both Travis and Gregory McMichael, a former law enforcement official, were arrested in connection with Arbery's shooting.
In a statement made by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI), the two men "were both charged with murder and aggravated assault. The McMichaels were then taken into custody and will be booked into the Glynn County Jail."
On Friday morning, hundreds of supporters rallied outside the Glynn County Courthouse with Arbery's family in honor of the young man. The peaceful demonstration was organized by the Georgia chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Another rally is planned to be held at Dual County Courthouse in Jacksonville, Florida on Friday afternoon.
The petition claims that "due to Greg McMichael's previous involvement in county law enforcement, Arbery's death is not being addressed as a homicide nor taken as seriously as it should be."
District Attorney Tom Durden, who formally requested the grand jury investigation, said in a press release that two district attorneys, George Barnhill and Jackie Johnson, recused themselves from the investigation "because of either prior employment and/or familial relationships" with individuals involved in the investigation. It was after those two individuals recused themselves that Durden took over the case on April 13.
Some protestors are demanding the resignation of Barnhill and Johnson as neither district attorney investigated the case.
The petition's goal is to reach at least 1 million signatures.
About the writer
Katherine Fung is a Newsweek senior reporter based in New York City. She has covered U.S. politics and culture extensively. ... Read more