Security costs for Arbery trial estimated at $1M

Security and other expenses related to the trial of the three men convicted of murdering Ahmaud Arbery cost over $1 million in taxpayer funds, according to local officials.

As local outlet The Brunswick News reported, those funds were used to pay for overtime, extra sheriff’s deputies, emergency management authority officials and police during the trial of Gregory McMichael, Travis McMichael and William Bryan.

In February 2020, Gregory and Travis McMichael, who are both white, chased down 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery, who was Black, in Brunswick, Ga., while armed in their truck. Their confrontation was caught on camera by Bryan, who had been following Arbery separately in his own vehicle.

Travis McMichael then fatally shot Arbery during a brief struggle between the two. Arbery’s cause of death was determined to be homicide resulting from three gunshot wounds sustained in the altercation.

Travis McMichael has claimed that he shot Arbery in self-defense.

In November, all three men were found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison, with the McMichaels’ sentences carrying no chance of parole.

As The Brunswick News noted, Glynn County is now preparing for the federal hate crimes trial of the three convicted men. For that trial, the outlet said, the federal government will be responsible for handling security within the courthouse, while the county will still need to handle security outside of the building.

Last week, Travis McMichael filed a motion for a retrial in the case.