BRUNSWICK, Ga. — For the second time in 90 days, Tuesday, Wanda Cooper-Jones, the mother of Ahmaud Arbery, watched from the gallery of a courtroom as three white men were convicted of crimes against her son.
On Nov. 24, Wanda Cooper-Jones watched as a jury in Glynn County convicted Gregory McMichael, Travis McMichael and William Bryan of murder and several other charges in death of Arbery.
This time, prosecutors proved to a different jury that the crimes carried out by the three men were motivated by racial hatred.
"It was a very good feeling," Cooper-Jones said. "We had gotten another victory for Ahmaud again. This is victory number two."
The hate crime convictions come 729 days after Arbery's death, just one day shy after the two-year anniversary. However, unlike the 2021 commemoration when the matter of justice was still in doubt for some, this year, justice has been served, Arbery's family said.
Cooper-Jones said Tuesday's verdict comes after a long fight.
“We went from 74 days without an arrest. Then, we went into quickly repealing the citizens’ arrest law. Then after that, we got the hate crime law in the state of Georgia. So, immediately after those arrests, we got some change here in the state of Georgia. So that was huge," Cooper-Jones explained. "Then we went on to get those big verdicts, so I’m very pleased as a mom. I am grateful.”
"Ahmaud would be pleased that we as the community, we as the state of Georgia and we as a nation had stood and finally got justice," she said.
This trial was particularly difficult for Arbery's family, they said. In addition to having to again watch the final moments of her son's life again, Wanda Cooper-Jones and Arbery's father and aunts also heard the disturbing language and racist slurs casually used by the defendants.
“It's very disheartening. I’m not just the mother of Ahmaud Arbery. I’m a mother, period," Cooper-Jones said. "The killers who killed Ahmaud – they characterized people of color as monkeys, as the n-word. Greg, he described Ahmaud as he was chasing Ahmaud, Ahmaud’s final minutes of his life, as being trapped like a rat."
The jury's foreperson, the sole Black male juror, one of just three Black jurors, teared up in the courtroom Tuesday. A fellow juror patted his back consoling him.
“I watched him throughout the trial. [The foreperson] had hair like Ahmaud. I’m sure he looked at Ahmaud like he looked at himself. He was a Black male," Cooper-Jones said. "I’m probably sure he took this hard because he could have been jogging and he could have been killed while he was jogging as well.”
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While she says she is pleased with the work federal prosecutors put into the case and the results that work produced, Cooper-Jones said she is still upset about the fight just before the trial started. Federal prosecutors offered Travis and Gregory McMichael plea deals that would have them serve the first 30 years of their sentences in federal prison.
Arbery's mother said she was against that deal because she wanted to see the men in a state facility. She said she voiced that to the Department of Justice and said her opinions were ignored.
The judge ultimately denied the plea deal after hearing Arbery's family's pleas in court.
"I was kind of disturbed with the way that the DOJ was handling Ahmaud's case with the plea deal," Cooper-Jones said. "I didn’t think that was right because I thought these charges were just as important as the state charges. And I’m glad the judge heard our cry, and we brought these guys to trial.”
"Ahmaud's life was worth more than a simple plea deal. We needed to bring these guys to trial," she added.
Cooper-Jones said they wouldn't have justice Tuesday if Arbery's family hadn't fought the plea deal.
She said she has nothing to say to Bryan or the McMichaels. However, she did warn anyone who may think like them.
"When you see a young Black man who’s jogging down the street, don’t make those kind of decisions because you will be held accountable as well,” she said.
There is still more work to be done, Cooper-Jones explained. However, she said the justice system is finally working in the right direction. With these convictions, Arbery's family can move forward to the other fights that lay ahead.
"We still have another fight to go with the DAs involved in the killing of Ahmaud," she said, referring to the now-ousted former Glynn County District Attorney Jackie Johnson, who is facing criminal charges relating to the Arbery investigation.
RELATED: Former Brunswick DA indicted on charges related to investigation into Ahmaud Arbery's death
While the future holds more fights, Cooper-Jones says the story of her son has not only changed her life, but others' as well. It also taught her an important lesson she won't forget.
"If we stand together, we will get change. If we stand, change will come. And we’ve learned that with the story of Ahmaud Arbery,” Cooper-Jones said. "Ahmaud can now rest in power.”
A sentencing date for the three men in the federal trial hasn't been set yet.