ATLANTA Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has said that the rhetoric of President Trump has “given permission” to racists following the fatal shooting of Ahmaud Arbery.
Arbery, a 25-year-old African-American, was jogging near his home in Satilla Shores, Georgia on February 23 when he was accosted by two men, Travis McMichael and dad Gregory McMichael, who had been following in a pickup truck.
Footage of the incident shows the pair step out of the truck – Travis armed with a shotgun – and attempt to stop Arbery, who was unarmed.
A scuffle then begins in which Arbery is fatally shot.
The McMichaels told police at the time that they had pursued Arbery because he resembled a suspect in a number of recent burglaries in the area.
The shooting was judged a “justifiable homicide” and neither man was arrested, but the killing sparked an outcry this week after the footage went viral online.
Both men have now been arrested and face charges of murder and aggravated assault.
Speaking on CNN, Mayor Bottoms said the episode embodied “part of this bigger issue that we are having in this country.”
“With the rhetoric that we hear coming out of the White House in so many ways, I think that many who are prone to being racist are given permission to do it in an overt way that we otherwise would not see in 2020,” she said.
“Because you have to remember, in cities across this country, even if local leadership fails, there was always the backstop of our Justice Department to step in and make sure people are appropriately prosecuted.
“But we don’t have that leadership at the top right now. It’s disheartening.”
Asked whether she thought the McMichaels had only been charged because the video drew so much attention online, she added: “I think that’s absolutely the reason that they were charged.
“I think, had we not seen that video, I don’t believe that they would be charged, and it’s heartbreaking that it’s 2020 and this was a lynching of an African-American man.”
Prominent figures including Jay-Z and Alicia Keys have called on Georgia officials to take fast action in the case.
President Trump has frequently been criticised for his inflammatory rhetoric and handling of race relations since coming to office.
In August 2017, he famously responded to clashes between white supremacist marchers and a counter demonstrators in Charlottesville, Virginia by saying there were “some very fine people on both sides”.
Speaking on Friday, he said that Arbery’s death was “heartbreaking”.
“I looked at a picture of that young man,” he said.
“That looks like a really good young guy, and it’s a very disturbing situation to me.
“And I just, my heart goes out to the parents and the family and the friends.”
Asked what could be done to stop the killing worsening race relations, he said: “Justice getting done is the thing that solves that problem.”
Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter and advisor, also tweeted on Friday: “The question that needs to be asked is why it seemingly took months, the release of a video and corresponding public outrage to catalyze action.”
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