ATLANTA — The man who filmed the pursuit and shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery, the 25-year-old black man who was killed after an encounter with two white men, was arrested on Thursday in connection with the killing, Georgia authorities said.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said in a statement that the man, William Bryan, 50, was arrested on charges of felony murder and criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment. The two other men, Gregory McMichael, 64, and Travis McMichael, 34, were charged with murder and aggravated assault this month.
Mr. Bryan, who is white, recorded the confrontation on Feb. 23 as the McMichaels pursued Mr. Arbery while he was running through the Satilla Shores neighborhood near Brunswick on the southeastern Georgia coast.
More than two months passed without arrests or criminal charges, and the video, released online this month, has been credited with bringing a surge of attention to the case and mobilizing activists. After the McMichaels were arrested, pressure ratcheted up for the authorities to arrest Mr. Bryan, who is known as Roddie.
The half-minute video taken by Mr. Bryan, who also lives in the neighborhood, shows Mr. Arbery running along a tree-lined street before encountering the McMichaels, who are father and son.
In the recording, Mr. Arbery and Travis McMichael are seen tussling over Mr. McMichael’s shotgun as Mr. McMichael shoots three times. Mr. Arbery then spins around, tries to run and falls to the pavement.
According to a police report, Gregory McMichael said that he saw Mr. Arbery running through his neighborhood and thought he looked like the suspect in a rash of nearby break-ins. The McMichaels maintain their innocence, their lawyers said.
One of the case’s early prosecutors had contended that the McMichaels’ actions did not constitute a criminal offense, citing statutes on self-defense and citizen’s arrests. But activists said the video was crucial in shining a light on the case, and argued that Mr. Bryan had been more than a bystander.
In a statement released on Thursday night, lawyers for Mr. Arbery’s family said they were “relieved” by the arrest.
“His involvement in the murder of Mr. Arbery was obvious to us, to many around the country and after their thorough investigation, it was clear to the G.B.I. as well,” the statement said.
Kevin Gough, Mr. Bryan’s lawyer, did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
The G.B.I. said in a statement that Mr. Bryan was being held in the Glynn County Jail, where the McMichaels are also being held as they await a bond hearing.
Mr. Bryan was considered a participant in the pursuit long before the video emerged online. He is mentioned in the initial police report of the killing, which was based largely on a Glynn County police officer’s interview with Gregory McMichael.
After arresting the McMichaels on May 7, the G.B.I. said Mr. Bryan was also a subject of its investigation.
In a television interview last week, Mr. Bryan pointed out the role his video had played in drawing notice to Mr. Arbery’s death, and said he was praying for his family.
“If there wasn’t a tape, then we wouldn’t know what happened,” he said. “I hope that it, in the end, brings justice to the family and peace to the family.”
Mr. Gough had said repeatedly in recent days that Mr. Bryan should not be charged. In the same television interview, appearing alongside Mr. Bryan on CNN, Mr. Gough blamed the McMichaels for the shooting, asserting that Mr. Bryan lived nearby and was drawn by the commotion.
“This is a terrible matter and some people are going to have to answer for what they did,” Mr. Gough said. “But my client is not responsible for that.” Mr. Bryan, he added, “hasn’t been in so much as a fistfight since he was in high school.”
Then, on Monday night, Mr. Gough released a statement saying that Mr. Bryan had taken a polygraph test that showed he was unarmed at the time of the shooting and did not have a conversation with the McMichaels before the pursuit.
“Without Roddie Bryan,” Mr. Gough wrote, referring to Mr. Bryan by his nickname, “there would be no video of the shooting of Ahmaud Arbery. Without that video there would be no case. Without purporting to speak for the prosecution, as that would not be my place, we believe Mr. Bryan is not just a witness for the prosecution but a key witness.”
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