Crowdpac Launches Fundraising Campaign to Support the Family of Ahmaud Arbery

A New Petition on Crowdpac Urges a Full Prosecution of Arbery's Assailants

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May 08, 2020, 19:41 ET

WASHINGTON, May 8, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Crowdfunding platform Crowdpac announced today that it launched a fundraising campaign to support the family of slain Georgian Ahmaud Arbery. Arbery was shot and killed on February 23 while jogging in Brunswick, GA.

Video released on May 4 appeared to show Arbery running innocently down a quiet street in the Satilla Shores neighborhood of Brunswick, GA, the county seat of Glynn County. In the video, shot by a passerby, Arbery attempted to run around a white pickup truck occupied by two armed men, father and son, Greg and Travis McMichael. At the end of the video, Arbery is shown falling to the ground with blood on his shirt. He died shortly thereafter.

Before retiring, Greg McMichael worked the Glynn County Police Department. According to a police report, McMichael told police that his son Travis shot Arbery, whom they suspected in a string of burglaries, after Arbery attacked him as he stood in the road with a shotgun. There are no reports on record of such burglaries, and the video released Tuesday indicates no such struggle occurred. Local prosecutors declined to file charges in the case.

"We are launching this fund to support Ahmaud's family. They are fighting for justice for Ahmaud and all the other families that have been victimized under the same horrifying circumstances," said the leaders of Crowdpac. "We are sending out this plea to our four million members to support the Arbery family. Crowdpac is waiving all of its fees to make sure 100% of the money our members donate goes directly to the family should they chose to accept it." The fund can be found here: https://www.crowdpac.com/campaigns/395160/supporting-ahmaud-arberys-family.

Late in the evening on May 7, the Georgia Bureau of Investigations arrested Greg and Travis McMichael, more than two months after the killing. Tom Durden, the district attorney in Hinesville, GA is overseeing the case alongside the Bureau.

Today, Crowdpac also launched a petition on the site calling for justice for Arbery and pressing District Attorney Durden to fully prosecute the case. According to the leaders of Crowdpac, "It is unconscionable to think that these arrests would never have been made without the release of the video earlier this week. We owe it to Ahmaud and so many others to keep the pressure on prosecutors to see this case to the end." The petition can be found here: https://www.crowdpac.com/petitions/6.

Crowdpac was launched in 2014 to support progressive candidates and causes and to date has raised $16 million. To learn more, visit www.crowdpac.com.

Crowdpac does not endorse any statements, candidates, political action committees, petitions, opinions or other messages sent or hosted by Crowdpac. Such statements, candidates, political action committees, petitions, opinions or other messages are those of the author, creator or organizer and do not necessarily represent the views of Crowdpac.

SOURCE Crowdpac