Political leaders emphasize 'true justice' and accountability after three men charged in Ahmaud Arbery's death are found guilty

• Political leaders are reacting to the news that all three men charged with killing Ahmaud Arbery were found guilty by a jury Wednesday.
• "This verdict upholds a sense of accountability, but not true justice," Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock Tweeted.

A jury on Wednesday found all three men convicted of murdering Ahmaud Arbery guilty of nearly all charges.

Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man, was shot and killed on February 23, 2020, while he was out for a jog in the Georgia neighborhood of Satilla Shores near the city of Brunswick.

Political leaders spoke out after the verdict, emphasizing justice and accountability.

"This verdict upholds a sense of accountability, but not true justice," Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock Tweeted following the news of the verdict.

"True justice looks like a Black man not having to worry about being harmed—or killed—while on a jog, while sleeping in his bed, while living what should be a very long life," he added.

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp also spoke out following the verdict.

"Ahmaud Arbery was the victim of vigilantism that has no place in Georgia," he said.

"Justice was served by a South Georgia jury, which found that #AhmaudArberry was murdered for running while Black," Georgia Rep. Hank Johnson Tweeted Wednesday.

"This verdict speaks also, to the direction where Georgia is headed. Forward, not back," he said.

"Ahmaud Arbery's murder was a modern-day lynching," Illinois Congressman Bobby Rush said in a statement reviewed by Insider Wednesday.

Rush continued: "The facts were clear. The crime was captured on video. The men who killed Arbery deserve to be held accountable — anything less would have been an unconscionable abandonment of justice."

"Today's verdict is a relief to many, myself included. But it cannot bring Arbery back. It does not stop the vicious racism and vigilante gun violence that led to his murder. And while the decision this jury arrived at was right and just, it is no guarantee that other perpetrators of modern-day lynching will be brought to justice," Rush said.

Travis McMichael, 35, fired the shot that killed Arbery; his father, Gregory McMichael, 65, pursued Arbery in his pickup truck alongside his son; and William Bryan, 52, joined the McMichaels in their pursuit and filmed the encounter, according to Insider.