Ahmaud Arbery murder: Travis McMichael withdraws guilty plea on federal hate crime charges

BRUNSWICK, Ga. — Travis McMichael will now stand trial on federal hate crime charges after he withdrew his guilty plea in court Friday morning.

The decision came after the judge overseeing the case rejected the plea deal, The Associated Press reported.

McMichael was convicted of killing Ahmaud Arbery in November and was sentenced to life in prison last month.

According to court documents filed late Thursday night, Travis’ father, Gregory McMichael, who also faces federal hate crime charges for Arbery’s shooting death, decided he will not plead guilty, which means he’ll go on trial beginning on Monday.

This comes just days after a plea deal was rejected by a federal judge.

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That deal would have allowed the McMichaels to serve the first 30 years of their life sentence at a federal prison, rather than a state prison where the conditions are thought to be a little better.

The McMichaels will now join their neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan at the federal courthouse next week.

The McMichaels, who are white men, were charged federally last year with hate crimes and attempted kidnapping. They are accused of targeting Arbery, who was a Black man, simply because of his race.

Action News Jax will have updates throughout the day on FOX30 and CBS47.

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