- Sheriff's deputies asked Ahmaud Arbery's father to leave the courtroom as the verdict was read in his son's murder case.
- Marcus Arbery cheered after Judge Timothy Walmsley said that the jury found Travis McMichael guilty of malice murder.
- "It's been a long time coming," Arbery told reporters of the guilty verdict as he left the courthouse, according to Reuters.
A judge requested that Ahmaud Arbery's father be removed from the courtroom on Wednesday after he reacted to the reading of the guilty verdict in the murder of the 25-year-old Black jogger.
When Glynn County Judge Timothy Walmsley read that the jury had found Travis McMichael guilty of malice murder, Arbery's father, Marcus Arbery, let out a cheer, according to Reuters. Walmsley said he had previously asked that there be no outbursts in the courtroom.
"If you feel like you need to make a comment, or otherwise demonstrate with respect to the verdict, I do ask that you step out of the courtroom now," the judge said.
Sheriff's deputies approached Arbery and asked him to leave, Reuters reported.
The jury found all three white defendants — McMichael, his father, Greg McMichael, and their neighbor, William Bryan — guilty of murdering Ahmaud Arbery.
"It's been a long time coming," Marcus Arbery said of the verdict as he left the courthouse, Reuters reported.
On February 23, 2020, Travis and Greg McMichael trailed Arbery in a pickup truck as he jogged through their neighborhood, saying they believed him to be responsible for recent break-ins in the area. Bryan followed them and filmed the incident. Travis McMichael eventually confronted Arbery and fatally shot him with a shotgun.
The three men each faced nine charges in Arbery's death, including malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, and false imprisonment. Travis McMichael was the only defendant convicted on all nine counts, while Gregory McMichael was found guilty on eight counts and Bryan was found guilty on seven counts.
At a press conference outside the courthouse, civil rights attorney Ben Crump said Arbery's spirit "defeated that lynch mob" in court. Crump described the verdict as a moment of celebration for Arbery's family, but said his loss still weighs heavily on them.
"We would be remiss if we didn't acknowledge, even though we are clapping and we are cheering and we applaud,
Wanda and Marcus still are devastated because they are missing Ahmaud," Crump said.