The murderers of the African-American Ahmaud Arbery, also convicted of hate crimes

From left to right, Travis McMichael, William "Roddie" Bryan and Gregory McMichael during their trial at the Glynn County Courthouse in Brunswick, Georgia.AP

The three men sentenced to life in prison for the murder of African-American Ahmaud Arbery were found guilty Tuesday on federal hate crime charges.

The jury has found that Gregory McMichael, 66, his son Travis, 36, and William

Bryan attacked and violated Arbery's civil rights because he was black.

The McMichaels chased Arbery through the streets of a residential neighborhood in Brunswick, Georgia, as the 25-year-old ran in broad daylight, unarmed.

They intercepted him and Travis shot him, killing him.

Bryan recorded the chase and witnessed the shots that killed Arbey from his car.

The prosecution described it as "a lynching in broad daylight."

The McMichaels and Bryan have pleaded not guilty to hate crime charges.

Defense attorneys contended that the three did not persecute or kill Arbery because of his "race and color," but rather acted on the sincere, albeit mistaken, suspicion that Arbery had committed crimes in his neighborhood.

All three were convicted in January of murder in a Georgia state court and sentenced to life in prison for the fatal shooting.

On February 23, 2020, Arbery went for a run in the Brunswick neighborhood.

The McMichaels saw him pass his house and thought he was a thief.

They grabbed their guns, got into their truck with a Confederate flag on the license plate, and chased the African-American down the street for five minutes.

Arbery, who was unarmed, did not stop when the men ordered him to, he was intercepted by the vehicle.

Travis got out of the car with a shotgun and began a struggle for control of the gun that ended with three shots at Arbery, who was killed.

In the video recorded by Bryan, one of those present is heard saying "

" , considered the worst insult towards the black population due to its past linked to slavery.

The images did not come to light until more than two months after the event, during which time those involved in the young man's death enjoyed full freedom.

The impunity provoked a wave of racial protests.

In closing arguments in the hate crime trial, prosecutors argued that Arbery's murder was caused by the defendants' "suppressed racial anger," revealed in text messages and on social media that were on display at trial and on witnesses who said they heard them make racist slurs.

The defendants' attorneys argued that their clients' earlier statements did not serve as evidence that they violated Arbery's civil rights and targeted him for being black.

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