BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) — Three Georgia men say they are not guilty of federal hate crimes in the slaying of Ahmaud Arbery. Travis McMichael, Greg McMichael and William “Roddie” Bryan entered their pleas Tuesday before a U.S. magistrate judge in the port city of Brunswick, where the white men chased and shot 25-year-old Arbery in February 2020. Federal prosecutors say they targeted Arbery because he was Black. Defense attorneys for the defandants have said they thought Arbery was a burglar and that Travis McMichael shot him in self-defense. Arbery’s father told reporters that the Justice Department’s recent decision to bring hate crime charges was “a big relief.”
