A FATHER and son have been arrested and charged with murder in the US state of Georgia over the killing of an unarmed black man.

Ahmaud Arbery was shot dead while he was out for a run in February.

Gregory McMichael, 64, a former law enforcement officer, and his 34-year-old son Travis were arrested and charged yesterday by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

The charges came days after a mobile phone video that captured the 25-year-old’s killing just outside the port city of Brunswick, went viral, triggering a nationwide outcry, sparking weeks of protest at the failure to bring charges against the McMichaels following the shooting.

In a police report, Gregory McMichael, a former police officer, says he saw Arbery and believed he resembled the suspect in a series of break-ins.

He and his son armed themselves and pursued him in a pick-up truck.

It’s a travesty of justice that they enjoyed their freedom for 74 days after taking the life of a young black man who was simply jogging

Benjamin Crump, lawyer

The bureau said the father and son had confronted Arbery with two firearms, and it was the younger McMichael who shot and killed him.

Arbery’s mother, Wanda Cooper Jones, has said she believes her son, a former football player, was simply out jogging on a Sunday afternoon when he was followed and killed.

Benjamin Crump, a lawyer for the victim’s  father, Marcus Arbery, said it was “outrageous” that it took so long for arrests to be made.

‘First step to justice’

He said in a statement: “This is the first step to justice. This murderous father and son duo took the law into their own hands. It’s a travesty of justice that they enjoyed their freedom for 74 days after taking the life of a young black man who was simply jogging.” 

The 36-second video clip, which prompted weeks of angry protest, was shot from a vehicle following the pick-up truck believed to be involved in the incident.

It shows a black man running on the left side of a road with a truck parked directly ahead of him. 

One white man is inside the pickup’s bed, while the other is standing beside the driver’s open door.

He tries to bypass the truck and then is seen struggling with a man carrying a shotgun. There is muffled shouting and shotgun shots.

A second shot can be heard and the runner can be seen punching the man. A third shot is then fired at point-blank range. The runner staggers a few feet and falls face down.

Local defence lawyer Alan Tucker identified himself as the person who shared the video. 

‘Erroneous accusations’

Although declining to say how he obtained it he said in a statement that he the released the video “because my community was being ripped apart by erroneous accusations and assumptions.”

The outcry over the killing has led a number of leading figures to comment on the case. 

President Donald Trump offered condolences to Arbery’s family.

He said: “It’s a very sad thing but I will be given a full report this evening.”

Senator Joe Biden who is campaigning to become the Democratic party’s presidential candidate compared the video to seeing Arbery “lynched before our very eyes”.