In Brunswick, Georgia, a former district attorney testified on Tuesday, denying allegations that she misused her position to shield the individuals involved in the death of Ahmaud Arbery, who was fatally shot in 2020. Jackie Johnson asserted that she had limited knowledge of the case until a cellphone video surfaced online two months later, which depicted the tragic event in vivid detail.
As Johnson recounted her experiences, she became emotional when discussing a brief encounter with Arbery’s mother shortly after the video was released. Johnson had recused her office from the case due to a conflict of interest, as one of the shooters was the offspring of a former colleague. At the time, she claimed she believed that Arbery had been shot while engaged in a burglary. The disturbing footage later revealed a different narrative of the incident.
“I felt like he was murdered,” she said regarding her reaction to the video, which showed Arbery attempting to flee while being confronted by a man wielding a shotgun. He was shot twice in quick succession as he reached for the firearm. Initially, law enforcement had conveyed to Arbery’s family that the shooting was a justified act of self-defense. After viewing the video, Johnson expressed concern that Arbery’s family might think she had concealed the truth about their son’s murder.
Johnson faces charges for allegedly breaching her oath of office, a serious felony that could result in a prison term ranging from one to five years. Prosecutors assert that she secretly facilitated the assignment of George Barnhill, a neighboring district attorney, to oversee Arbery’s case after Barnhill had already indicated to police that the shooting did not constitute a crime.
Defense attorney Brian Steel confronted Johnson with pointed questions about her interactions with Barnhill, inquiring if she had ever urged him to take a sympathetic approach due to their connections. Johnson firmly denied making any such suggestions.
At the time of the shooting on February 23, 2020, Johnson served as the primary prosecutor for Glynn County. The incident involved a father-and-son duo, Greg and Travis McMichael, who pursued Arbery, mistakenly believing he was a burglar. Neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan joined their chase and recorded the fatal confrontation. Notably, Greg McMichael had served as an investigator in Johnson’s office prior to his retirement.
After the shooting occurred, Greg McMichael reached out to Johnson via voicemail for assistance. During her testimony, Johnson acknowledged having seven conversations with him during the period leading up to the video leak, although she maintained that she never discussed offering any aid or delved into case specifics. “I told him I hope he understood our office was not going to be involved in the case,” she noted.
The Georgia Attorney General’s office is spearheading the prosecution against Johnson, with lead prosecutor John Fowler questioning the reliability of her account of the phone calls. “Nobody else heard those calls,” he observed, suggesting that their conversations were privately held between Johnson and McMichael.
More than two months passed without any arrests related to Arbery’s death until the graphic video was leaked, prompting the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to intervene. The individuals involved, both McMichaels and Bryan, would later be charged with murder and face federal hate crime charges.
Following the incident, Johnson fell short in her reelection bid in November 2020, only a few months after Arbery’s death, and faced indictment nearly a year later. Upon viewing the video in early May 2020, Johnson said her perspective shifted dramatically, realizing that Greg McMichael could be “a murder suspect.” This led her to reach out to GBI investigators, providing them with voicemail messages he had sent following the shooting.
Soon after the video was made public, Johnson had an emotional encounter with Wanda Cooper-Jones, Arbery’s mother, outside the courthouse. “She called my name. I didn’t know her before I’d seen her on television,” Johnson recalled tearfully, recounting how she expressed her heartfelt condolences to Cooper-Jones.
On a noteworthy note, during the prosecution’s case, Judge John R. Turner ordered Johnson to be acquitted of a second charge related to obstructing law enforcement in the investigation of Arbery’s death. This ruling came after he determined there was insufficient evidence to justify that particular charge.
