Three Georgia men pleaded not guilty to federal hate crime charges Tuesday in the slaying of Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man who was chased and shot after being spotted running in the white defendants’ neighborhood. Travis McMichael and his father, Greg McMichael, as well as a neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan, entered their pleas before a U.S. magistrate judge. Justice Department prosecutors said they plan to share the bulk of their evidence with defense attorneys within a week, and the rest in the next month, a sign they’re moving swiftly even with state murder charges still pending against the same defendants. A Georgia judge has set a trial in the state’s case for October and will hear pretrial motions later this week.

“We know justice is closer,” Marcus Arbery Sr., the slain man’s father, told reporters outside the federal courthouse in Brunswick, about 70 miles (112 miles) south of Savannah. He said the Justice Department’s decision to prosecute his son’s death as a hate crime had been “a big relief.”

The McMichaels armed themselves and pursued Arbery in a pickup truck after he ran past their home on Feb. 23, 2020. Bryan joined the chase and took cellphone video of Travis McMichael shooting Arbery three times at close range with a shotgun.

On April 28, the Justice Department charged both McMichaels and Bryan, who are all white, with violating Arbery’s civil rights as well as attempted kidnapping for using their trucks and guns to try to detain him. The McMichaels were also charged with using firearms in the commission of a crime.

The federal indictment says all three men illegally used force to “injure, intimidate and interfere with” the young Black man “because of Arbery’s race and color.” If convicted of interfering with Arbery’s rights, they could face a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Wearing white masks and orange jail uniforms, all three defendants confirmed their pleas to U.S. Magistrate Judge Benjamin Cheesbro.

It was the first time members of Arbery’s family sat in the same courtroom as the defendants, who during prior court hearings appeared by video conference from jail because of coronavirus precautions.

“There was a moment where I wanted to break down, but I remained strong,” said Thea Brooks, one of Arbery’s aunts. “It’s hard being in a room with people that you know have taken your loved one from you.”

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