Judge dismisses indictment against former Georgia DA accused of interfering in Arbery murder case

A judge has dismissed the remaining charges, a felony indictment against former Georgia DA Jackie Johnson, clearing her of legal wrongdoing in the investigation of Ahmaud Arbery’s murder.

The trial was over the Ahmaud Arbery case

Arbery was chased and gun downed by three white men on Feb. 23, 2020, while jogging in a Georgia neighborhood.  No arrests were made until more than two months later after video of the crime came out and went viral. The case was among those that sparked national outrage and protests over racial justice.

Johnson was indicted in September 2021 of violating her oath of office. But Senior Judge John R. Turner agreed with her defense attorney that the indictment should be dismissed based on a technical flaw, reports the Associated Press.

Judge Turner expressed sympathy to Arbery’s family as he dismissed the case, saying he will never understand why Arbery’s killers were not arrested sooner.

DA Jackie Johnson’s defends herself during trial

Johnson testified in her own defense that she never sought to shield Arbery’s killers from arrest, reports NPR. One of those men were Gregory McMichael, who had previously worked as an investigator in her office. Johnson admitted she spoke with McMichael several times in the days and weeks following Arbery’s murder, but stated she denied offering him help. She said she told him her office was not going to be involved.

The former Georgia DA also testified that she had immediately recused herself from the case, and asked a neighboring DA, George Barnhill, to advise Glynn County police. She said she didn’t see video of the killing until it was leaked online months later, and thought it showed a murder.

Gregory McMichael, his son Travis, and William “Roddie” Bryan profiled Arbery, assuming the 25-year-old was a thief and chased him with pickup trucks before Travis McMichael shot Arbery at point blank range three times with a shotgun. The men were convicted on murder, kidnapping, and hate crime charges and are all serving life in prison.

Moving forward

Prosecutors said they already faced a set back when Turner acquitted Johnson of a misdemeanor count of obstructing police on Monday, February 3, 2025. Turner ruled after prosecutors rested their case, declaring they failed to show “one scintilla of evidence” that Johnson had directed police investigators not to arrest the man who shot Arbery, reports the Associated Press.

In a statement to NPR, Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr said his office had fought to ensure justice was served. “We stand by the case we presented, and we regret that the Jury won’t get to decide.”

Leaving the courtroom, Arbery’s mother, Wanda Cooper Jones said “the law is the law,” according to the Atlanta Journal -Constitution. “But this was a win for us, because we got to find out what really went on.” Initially, Arbery’s family was told he was killed in self-defense.