Jackie Johnson, the former Brunswick-area district attorney, appeared Wednesday in criminal court for the first time in three years to defend herself on charges of impeding the investigation of Ahmaud Arbery’s 2020 murder.
Flanked by local political allies and law enforcement personnel, Johnson sat in Glynn County Superior Court while her defense attorney argued motions ahead of the trial scheduled for late January 2025.
Johnson is accused of interfering in the investigation into Arbery’s death. Three men, one of whom was her former investigator at the DA’s office, have been convicted of murdering the 25-year-old Brunswick man, who was chased and killed while jogging in a predominately-white neighborhood on Feb. 23, 2020.
On Sept. 2, 2021, a grand jury indicted her on charges of violating her oath of office as Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney by allegedly directing officers not to arrest Travis McMichael, the son of her former employee, Greg, in Arbery’s murder. She is also charged with hand-picking the district attorney who would investigate Arbery’s murder after she declared a conflict of interest in the case.
Johnson arrived in court in similar attire as to when she was the county’s top prosecutor: a pants suit and pearl necklace. She sat on the defense table to the right of the judge, while Georgia Attorney General prosecutors were stationed to the left.
Sitting near Johnson as a sign of support was the former clerk of court, Ron Adams, and her former top deputy prosecutor, John Johnson (no relation). The courtroom was filled with Glynn County Sheriff’s deputies, court staff, and reporters. Two sitting sheriffs were in attendance.
Johnson was represented by Atlanta-based defense attorney Brian Steel, who gained national celebrity for his role in Georgia’s longest-running trial that ended with the minimal sentencing for his client, Jeffrey Williams, the Atlanta rapper known as Young Thug.
Steel’s representation of the rapper was also the primary reason for the yearslong delay in Johnson’s prosecution.
Steel previewed upcoming arguments in the case, including an assertion that Johnson was so focused on her prosecution of John Powell, the former Glynn County Police Chief, and the department’s drug unit on corruption charges that it was impossible for her to have colluded in the Arbery murder case. Powell’s charges were dismissed after a favorable Georgia Supreme Court ruling earlier this year.
“She was not focused. She didn’t know any better,” Steel said, referring to the criminal allegations.
“No one had ever indicted a police chief before,” he went on to say.
Pre-trial motions, including the scope of what can be said at trial and the types of witnesses both sides want to call, were considered Wednesday.
John Fowler, the top anti-corruption attorney at the AG’s office who is leading the case against Johnson, tried to counter motions by Steel. One of those was an attempt to disqualify the AG’s office from its role as prosecutor.
Fowler said a favorable ruling by the judge on this motion would send the case into further delays.
“The case would go into some kind of gray, legal limbo,” Fowler said. “Nobody can do anything. That’s the end goal here.”
Evidence seen, unseen
The hearing did not reveal any new evidence that state prosecutors expect to bring to trial.
But the day did reveal a potential political bombshell.
Steel said he wanted to put AG Chris Carr on the stand to question him as a witness in the case. Carr has announced his candidacy to run for governor in 2026 to succeed Gov. Brian Kemp.
Previously, prosecutors have revealed the existence of 16 phone calls between Greg McMichael and Johnson, despite her recusal, that she “showed favor and affection for McMichael throughout the pendency of the case – including when she was making decisions as the DA over his case,” according to the May 2022 motion.
The public does not know the content of those calls, nor other evidence by the GBI that Johnson directed officers not to arrest Travis McMichael.
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