Georgia Man Who Filmed Fatal Confrontation Between Ahmaud Arbery, McMichaels, Arrested and Charged With Murder

The man who filmed the hotly controversial February confrontation between Travis and Gregory McMichael and Ahmaud Arbery was arrested and charged with murder and attempted false imprisonment on Thursday. William Bryan filmed the altercation between the McMichaels and Arbery in Brunswick, Georgia, which proved fatal for the latter.

Lawyers for Arbery’s parents had been calling for the arrest of Bryan, who drove behind the McMichaels as they boxed off Arbery and attempted to place him under a citizen’s arrest. The Georgia men had suspected Arbery of involvement in several burglaries in Brunswick, although they hadn’t witnessed him engaging in crimes firsthand; Arbery’s advocates maintain that he was accosted by reckless, armed vigilantes.

An attorney for Bryan is pointing to a polygraphs he says his client took exonerating him of any involvement in the shooting. Bryan claims to have been unarmed at the time of the shooting, and didn’t have any conversation with Travis or Gregory McMichael before the event.

Arbery family lawyer Benjamin Crump claims that Bryan’s “involvement in the murder of Mr. Arbery was obvious to us, to many around the country and after their thorough investigation, it was clear to the GBI as well.”

The McMichaels are being charged with first-degree murder, setting up what will likely prove to be a controversial and racially charged murder trial.

Footage of the event, taken by Bryan, shows him driving up to a roadblock where Travis McMichael and Arbery enter into a physical confrontation. (Warning: the footage is graphic.)