Former District Attorney Jackie Johnson has escaped the last of her criminal charges after a judge tossed out a felony indictment after being accused of using her influence to shield the men who chased and killed Ahmaud Arbery in February 2020, Associated Press reports.
Senior Judge John R. Turner’s ruling closed the book on the criminal charges Johnson was facing for over three years. With her trial starting in early February 2025
, she faced other felony charges, including violating her oath of office and a misdemeanor count of obstructing police. Things worked in her favor when Turner ruled on Feb. 5 without a jury verdict after hearing five days of testimony from witnesses, one being Johnson herself.During her testimony, Johnson claimed Arbery’s family referred to her as a monster, and she was trying to help them. “She told me that I’m a monster. She said I’m a monster,” she said the family called her after watching the video of their loved one’s death, according to WJCL.
“I grabbed her hand, and I said, ‘I’m so sorry about your son.'”
The former Georgia prosecutor has continuously denied the accusations related to Arbery’s death, claiming she never influenced police who initially decided they wouldn’t arrest
father and son duo Travis and Gregory McMichael, two white men convicted of fatally shooting Arbery, a Black man. A third man, a neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan, joined the pursuit in his truck and recorded a video of Travis McMichael shooting Arbery at close range with a shotgun. Turner tossed out the oath violation charge following Johnson’s legal team arguing the 2021 indictment was flawed by technical errors, failing to accuse her of any crimes. “Frankly, this is a decision I didn’t want to make,” the judge said in court. But he continued, saying the defense’s indictment challenge “needs to be granted.” The victim’s family, Marcus Arbery Sr. and Wanda Cooper-Jones told reporters that they stand firm in the belief that Johnson was trying to protect the McMichaels, calling the judge’s decision “devastating. Cooper-Jones says if the judge didn’t dismiss the charges, she believes the jury would have convicted Johnson. “The evidence was there,” Arbery’s mother said.“We all know that Jackie Johnson played a part in the cover-up of the death of Ahmaud.”
It wasn’t until state attorney Chris Carr ordered an investigation of Johnson, resulting in her 2021 indictment. Prosecutors accused Johnson of withholding information that alleged a neighboring district attorney, appointed by Carr, had already advised police that Arbery was shot in self-defense.
Greg McMichael once worked for Johnson as an investigator and retired the year before the murder. He called Johnson for help, leaving her a voicemail. She testified that she handed the voicemail over to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation within 48 hours after the video aired.
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