The murder of Ahmaud Arbery in late February gained national attention after the emergence of a video that shows the 25-year-old African-American jogger being chased, shot at and killed by two white men. It was only after the video emerged that the father-son duo seen in the video were charged for Ahmaud's grisly murder.
Atlanta mayor blames White House 'rhetoric' for Arbery's murder
On Sunday, Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms described the murder as "lynching" and blamed it on "White House's rhetoric". While talking to CNN, Bottoms said: "It's 2020 and this was a 'lynching' of an African American man". According to her, murder charges wouldn't have been leveled against the father-son duo if the video of his murder hadn't emerged.
While blaming the White House "rhetoric" for the "lynching" Bottoms said: "It's a part of the bigger issue that we are having in this country with the rhetoric we hear coming out of the White House in so many ways ... I think that many who are prone to being racist are given permission to do it in an overt way that we otherwise would not see in 2020".
President Donald Trump on Friday called Arbery's death "a heartbreaking thing". "I looked at a picture of that young man. He was in a tuxedo ... I will say that that looks like a really good young guy".
Ahmaud Arbery's murder
Arbery was shot and killed on February 23 by 64-year old Gregory McMichael and his 34-year old son Travis. The case garnered national attention only after a video of the gruesome murder emerged recently. The video shows a truck driven by McMichael cuts off Ahmaud as he jogs by. Travis and Ahmaud can be seen struggling over a weapon shortly before he was shot dead.
On Thursday, the father-son duo were charged with murder and aggravated assault. Both men claim they were acting in self-defense as they believed Arbery was a burglar.
