All 3 men guilty of murder in the killing of Ahmaud Arbery

Rev. Al Sharpton praised "White and Black activists" alike for their support during the trial of three men found guilty of murdering Ahmaud Arbery last year.

Sharpton added: "Tomorrow, in all our joy today, there will be an empty chair at Wanda's table. Ahmaud will not be at Thanksgiving tomorrow. But she can look at that chair and say to Ahmaud, 'I fought a good fight and I got you some justice.' We can't fill that chair for you, Wanda, but we can say that you are a mother above all mothers. You fought for your son."

Religious leaders during the trial: Defense attorney Kevin Gough attempted to have Rev. Jesse Jackson removed from the court on Nov. 15 as the civil rights leader sat with Arbery's family.

Gough insisted that prominent Black pastors such as Jackson and Sharpton, who was also at the trial, could influence the jury. The week before, Gough asked the judge to ban Black pastors from court and later apologized for it.

Gough objected to Jackson's presence in the public gallery on Nov. 15 inside the courtroom.

"How many pastors does that Arbery family have? We had the Rev. Al Sharpton here earlier last week... I don't know who Mr. Jackson, Rev. Jackson is pastoring here," Gough said.

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump said the guilty verdict of all three defendants in the death of Arbery is "not a celebration, it is a reflection to acknowledge that the spirit of Ahmaud defeated the lynch mob."

"We did this together. We said 'America, we will make us better than what we saw on that video,'" he said.

Crump, who represents Marcus Arbery Sr., praised both Arbery's father and mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones for enduring the trial. He said they are "still devastated because they're missing Ahmaud."

"You can't experience the pain of a mother and a father who witnessed what they witnessed not being there to protect their child," Crump said.

"Every parent in America can take solace in knowing that we have an example of how to deal with tragedy and grief when they look at the example of Marcus Arbery and Wanda Cooper. And we should applaud them."

When deciding their verdict, the jurors in the trial in the killing of Ahmaud Arbery had to weigh two different types of murder charges – malice murder and felony murder.

Travis McMichael was found guilty of malice murder while the other defendants, Gregory McMichael and William "Roddie" Bryan Jr., were convicted on four and three of the counts of felony murder, respectively.

The difference between the charges has to do with intent, Elie Honig, CNN senior legal analyst, said.

Malice murder means that the jury determined that Travis McMichael intended to kill Ahmaud Arbery, and he did, Honig said. Travis McMichael was the person who shot Arbery. Gregory McMichael and William "Roddie" Bryan Jr.'s felony murder convictions means that they intentionally committed the felony.

For context: Despite the different murder convictions, all three of the men could face possible life sentences.

Wanda Cooper-Jones, mother of Ahmaud Arbery, spoke outside the courthouse after the verdicts were read. She told the crowd that was gathered that she wanted to say "Thank you."

Cooper-Jones said, "to tell you the truth, I never thought this day back in 2020." 

"I never thought this day would come. But God is good," she added.

She concluded by saying that her son can now "rest is peace."

"You know him as Ahmaud, I know him as 'Quez,' he will now rest in peace," she said

The family of Ahmaud Arbery and civil rights attorneys emerged from the courthouse in Glynn County, Georgia, with their arms raised and interlocked after three men were found guilty in his killing.

Observers raised their fists in solidarity.

Judge Timothy Walmsley asked Marcus Arbery Sr., the father of Ahmaud Arbery, to leave the courtroom after he reacted to the guilty verdict of Travis McMichael – the man who shot his son.

Arbery exclaimed "Woohoo!" after the first guilty verdict was read.

“I ask that whoever just made an outburst be removed from the court, please,” Walmsley said.

“If you feel like you need to make a comment regarding the verdict, I ask that you step outside the courtroom now," he added.

Outside of the courtroom there were chants of "We got justice," CNN's Sara Sidner said, adding, "That is the sentiment of the crowd outside."

Judge Timothy Walmsley has not set a sentencing date for the three men convicted of murder in the killing of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery.

Earlier this afternoon, a jury found Travis McMichael, his father Gregory McMichael and their co-defendant William "Roddie" Bryan Jr. guilty of murder in the death of Arbery last year.

People have gathered outside the courthouse after a jury found all three men charged in the killing of Ahmaud Arbery guilty of murder.

The jury deliberated for more than 11 hours.

CNN's Sara Sidner said most of the people have been waiting outside the whole time the jury was deliberating, some have even been outside the courthouse for the entire two weeks the trial was going on.

They have been chanting Arbery's name, saying, "We've got justice." Some people are waving flags. There were screams of relief and yelling when the first verdict was read, Sidner reported.

All three of the men accused of chasing and killing 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery have been found guilty of murder in the jogger’s death.  

Here's a breakdown of the verdict:

All three men have also been indicted on separate federal hate crime charges, which include interference with rights and attempted kidnapping. Travis and Gregory McMichael were also charged with using, carrying, brandishing and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. All three men pleaded not guilty to the federal charges. 

The federal trial is set to take place in February. Since they were being held on the state charges, there has been no federal bond hearing yet. If convicted on the federal charges, they could face an additional penalty of up to life in prison.