The man who released the viral video of the deadly shooting of Ahmaud Arbery is a Georgia defense attorney, First Coast News reported Friday.
Video of the shooting, released anonymously to a radio station and then online Tuesday, brought the February shooting to national attention and preceded murder charges brought on Thursday.
Alan Tucker of Brunswick, Ga., released the video, he revealed Friday.
Tucker has been unofficially advising the men now charged with killing Arbery, according to First Coast News.
“There was entirely too much speculation, rumor, false narratives, and outright lies surrounding this event,” Tucker said in a statement obtained by The New York Times.
Since the video’s release, President Trump has called the footage “very disturbing”, and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden called for a “swift, full and transparent investigation.”
Gregory McMichael and his son Travis McMichael were arrested on charges of murder and aggravated assault in the case on Thursday.
In clips of the video shared widely online, Ahmaud Arbery is seen running down a road away from two vehicles and then struggling with a man over a shotgun. Arbery was fatally shot in the encounter.
The McMichaels are accused of chasing Arbery down after spotting him jogging. They have reportedly said they suspected him of breaking into multiple homes in the area.
A third man, William “Roddie” Bryan, reportedly filmed the encounter. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is looking into his involvement in the incident, according to USA Today.
It is not clear how Tucker obtained the video.