Georgia DA Who Oversaw Ahmaud Arbery’s Case Ousted on Election Day
Jackie Johnson, who led the initial investigation of Arbery’s killing, is being probed by the feds for her handling of the case.

Sean Rayford/Getty
The Georgia district attorney who initially oversaw the investigation of Ahmaud Arbery’s murder was unseated on Election Day. Jackie Johnson—who’s under federal investigation for her handling of Arbery’s case—lost to independent Keith Higgins by a sizable margin of 66 percent to 34 percent, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. The soon-to-be-former district attorney was the first prosecutor called in to investigate the death of Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man who authorities say was shot and killed while jogging on Feb. 23 by a white man, Gregory McMichael, and his son, Travis McMichael. Johnson recused herself from the case, as Gregory McMichael was an investigator in her office, and it was handed off to a second prosecutor, who declined to bring charges. Glynn County commissioners have claimed that Johnson’s office told them not to make arrests—allegations the DA’s office deemed a “vicious lie.” Charges weren’t brought against the pair for two months—until the Georgia Bureau of Investigation took over the case when damning video of the shooting was brought to light.
Register below to read this article for free or subscribe
to unlock unlimited access to The Daily Beast.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Already have an account? Sign In
Looks like you already have a subscription!
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.