One of the suspects who is facing murder charges for the killing of Ahmaud Arbery believes it is “manifestly unjust” that he is being held without bail, according to TMZ.
William “Roddie” Bryan, the man who recorded the fatal shooting of Arbery, believes he is being held unfairly, while suspects in other high-profile racially-charged cases, such as George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Rayshard Brooks, have been granted bonds while awaiting trial.
According to court papers, Bryan was “armed only with a cellphone and located more than 50 feet from Mr. Arbery at the time of the shooting, languishes in the Glynn County Detention Center.”
Bryan was denied bail in a hearing back in July. His attorney believes he should be granted bond because he is not a flight risk and is not a danger to the community. He, along with Travis and Gregory McMicheal, were each charged with four counts of felony murder, one count of false imprisonment, one count of malice murder, two counts of aggravated assault and one count of criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment.
On Feb. 23, Arbery was fatally shot while jogging through a Georgia neighborhood. The McMichaels, who are father and son, took their weapons and jumped into their truck to follow the Black jogger. Soon after, there was a struggle over the firearm and he was shot and killed. Bryan recorded the incident and authorities believe he used his pickup truck to try to trap Arbery. They also say he struck him with the vehicle to stop him from fleeing.
Last month, prosecutors filed to have racist texts and social media posts become admissible during the trial. In 2019, Travis posted a “racial highway video Facebook post,” “a Racial Johnny Rebel Facebook post” and sent a racial text message. Gregory posted an “Identity Dixie Facebook post” and “Racial Johnny Rebel Facebook post.”
Lead prosecutor Jesse Evans said Bryan used the N-word multiple times in message threads that contained “a ton of filth.”