Ahmaud Arbery: Hate crime plea deal offered in black jogger murder case

The mother of a black jogger killed in 2020 has said she is "totally upset" by news a plea deal has been reached with two men convicted of his murder.

Travis and Gregory McMichael and their neighbour, William Bryan were found guilty of murdering Ahmaud Arbery in November.

The three also faced a fresh federal trial on hate crimes charges and had all pleaded not guilty.

That trial was due to begin next month.

But it has emerged that US federal prosecutors have reached plea agreements with the McMichaels, according to court papers.

Lawyers for the US government filed notices this weekend asking a district judge to accept pleas for the McMichaels. They said the deal would "dispose" of the pending charges against the McMichaels if accepted and their hate crimes trial would not proceed.

The three white men faced five federal charges, including interfering with "Arbery's right to use a public street because of his race".

Civil rights activists believe a federal trial would have been a key moment in the country's reckoning with racial injustice.

Arbery's killing in February 2020 sparked outrage across the United States.

He was shot while jogging following a confrontation with Gregory and Travis McMichael. It took more than two months for the men to be arrested, along with Bryan, their neighbour who filmed the death.

Lawyers for Mr Arbery's family called it a "modern-day lynching".

The McMichaels argued they were defending themselves while trying to make a "citizen's arrest".

In an interview with the New York Times, Arbery's mother Wanda Cooper-Jones said she would try to persuade the judge to reject the plea agreements in a hearing on Monday morning.

"They (prosecutors) went behind my back. I'm totally, totally upset. My anxiety is over the roof," she said.

In January, the McMichaels were sentenced to life in prison without parole, while Bryan was told he could seek parole after 30 years in prison.