Judge to arraign ex-DA charged in Arbery killing’s aftermath

By RUSS BYNUM
Associated Press

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — A former Georgia prosecutor charged with hindering the police investigation into the 2020 killing of Ahmaud Arbery is scheduled to make her first court appearance in the case next month. A superior court judge on Tuesday ordered a Dec. 29 arraignment for former District Attorney Jackie Johnson. More than a year has passed since Johnson was indicted on misconduct charges alleging she used her office to try to protect two of the white men who chased and fatally shot Arbery after he ran past their home on Feb. 23, 2020. One of them, Greg McMichael, had worked for Johnson as an investigator. Johnson has denied wrongdoing and her attorneys have asked the judge to dismiss the charges. Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr’s office is prosecuting the case.