A former prosecutor in Georgia, Jackie Johnson, had her legal motion denied by a judge in Savannah on Monday. The motion was to halt her upcoming trial on charges related to her alleged interference with police investigating the 2020 killing of Ahmaud Arbery. Senior Judge John R. Turner rejected Johnson’s request to disqualify the Georgia Attorney General’s office from prosecuting her. Her defense team argued that there was a conflict of interest since members of the Attorney General’s staff were key witnesses in the case.
Jury selection for Johnson’s trial is set to begin on Jan. 21 in Brunswick, about 70 miles south of Savannah. Arbery, a Black man, was fatally shot in February 2020 while running in a residential neighborhood. The case gained national attention when video footage of the incident surfaced online, prompting the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to take over the case. The men involved in the chase and shooting, including Greg McMichael and his son Travis, have since been convicted of murder and hate crimes.
Johnson, who was the top prosecutor in Glynn County at the time of Arbery’s death, was indicted in 2021 on charges of violating her oath of office and hindering a police officer. She has denied any wrongdoing, with her defense team arguing that she was focused on seeking high-profile indictments at the time of the shooting and was not involved in the specifics of Arbery’s case.
The judge’s ruling on Monday denied Johnson’s legal motion without providing further explanation. The prosecution stated that individuals from the Attorney General’s office who had direct dealings with Johnson no longer work there. The charges against Johnson stem from her recommendation to appoint a neighboring prosecutor to handle Arbery’s case, which the Attorney General did without knowledge of her prior involvement.
This legal battle marks Johnson’s first appearance as a criminal defendant since her indictment three years ago. A wide-reaching investigation into organized crime activities and gang involvement.
