Man who filmed white ex-cop gun down Ahmaud Arbery may also be arrested in connection to the unarmed black jogger's murder

The man who filmed the white ex-cop gun down Ahmaud Arbery may also face arrest in connection to the unarmed black jogger's murder, authorities have said.

At a press conference Friday, the director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Vic Reynolds said William 'Roddie' Bryan could be arrested for his part in the murder after he watched and shot the footage of the attack. 

It is not yet clear what Bryan, a neighbor of the McMichaels, could be charged with. 

This comes after Gregory McMichael, 64, and his son Travis McMichael, 34, were pictured Thursday being arrested and charged with murder and aggravated assault for the shooting death of Arbery, 25, in Brunswick, Georgia, back in February.  

'Is there anyone else going to be charged in this case?' Reynolds said the community was asking him. 

'I tell you that this is an active, ongoing case and investigation. If the facts take [officers] to make another arrest then they will do that.'

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Ahmaud Arbery and his mother Wanda Cooper Jones. Bryan may also face arrest for his part in the murder after he watched and shot the footage of the attack, authorities said

When pressed if this means Bryan will face charges over Arbery's death, Reynolds would not rule it out. 

'Don't know yet – we'll go wherever the evidence takes us. If there is probable cause for arrest, we'll do it. If there isn't, we won't,' he said, adding that Bryan's video of the fatal confrontation, which took place on February 23, was a key piece of evidence. 

Authorities are 'investigating everyone involved in the case including the individual who shot that video,' he added.  

Ben Crump, an attorney for the victim's family, called for Bryan's arrest for aiding and abetting the McMichaels in Arbery's murder.

'This is William "Roddie" Bryan – who we believe may have been the third person in pursuit of #AhmaudArbery. If he chased down Ahmaud and filmed his execution, he should be arrested and charged with aiding and abetting them in committing this crime of murder. #RunWithMaud,' Crump wrote in a Twitter post Thursday.

A memo from one of the former district attorneys on the case said Bryan had joined in the pursuit of the innocent jogger. 

Waycross Judicial Circuit District Attorney George E. Barnhill said in the memo,  obtained by USA Today, that all three men were in 'hot pursuit of a burglary suspect'. 

Bryan lives just a few houses away from the McMichaels, close to where the killing took place.  

Reynolds downplayed any racial motive behind the attack of the white men on the young black male during Friday's press conference 

He said: 'There is no hate crime in Georgia. There isn't. It is one of four or five states that doesn't have one'. 

DailyMail.com has reached out to the GBI for comment about Bryan's involvement and any potential charges he faces. 

As the GBI ramps up its investigation, protesters angered by Arbery's death gathered outside the courthouse in Brunswick Friday - what would have been the victim's 26th birthday.

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Georgia Bureau of Investigation director Vic Reynolds (pictured center) said authorities are 'investigating everyone involved in the case including the individual who shot that video'

A crowd of several hundred people, most wearing masks, sang 'Happy Birthday' in his honor outside the Glynn County Courthouse. 

Many expressed frustrations at the long wait before any arrests were made, and fears that the justice system will fail them.

President Donald Trump broke his silence over the killing that has shaken America, calling the video showing Arbery's murder 'disturbing'.    

'I looked at a picture of that young man. He was in a tuxedo … I will say that that looks like a really good young guy,' Trump said on Fox & Friends Friday.

'My heart goes out to the parents and the families and friends,' he added while stating that he believed Georgia governor Brian Kemp would investigate the matter 'strongly'.  

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Exclusive photos show the moment Gregory McMichael (pictured) and his son Travis McMichael were arrested at their home in Brunswick, Georgia, on Thursday

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An officer with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation is seen leading 34-year-old Travis McMichael out of the home in handcuffs

Gregory, 64, and Travis, 34, are pictured in their mugshots. It has also emerged that Gregory, who worked as an investigator in the Brunswick DA's office, helped prosecute Arbery in the past

'[Brian Kemp] is going to do what's right. It's a heartbreaking thing. That was very rough, rough stuff.

'Justice getting done is the thing that solves the [racial problem]. Again, it is in the hands of the governor and I'm sure he'll do the right thing. It could be something that we didn't see on tape. If you saw, things went off tape and then back on tape.'

It has also emerged that Gregory, who worked as an investigator in the Brunswick DA's office, helped prosecute Arbery in the past, Barnhill revealed. 

In a letter to Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr recusing himself from the case, Barnhill said his son and Gregory 'both helped with the previous prosecution of (Ahmaud) Arbery'. 

Gregory, who retired from the DA's office in 2019, had not mentioned his involvement in the case to police.    

Arbery was shot dead while out jogging on February 23 by the McMichaels.

The killers evaded prosecution for more than two months, after the father and son team initially claimed they thought Arbery was a burglar after a spate of thefts in the area, and that he attacked them when they tried to make a citizen's arrest.  

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People react during a rally Friday morning outside the courthouse in Brunswick, Georgia, to protest the shooting of Ahmaud Arbery, an unarmed black man what would have been his 26th birthday

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Protesters gathered for a march through Brunswick on Tuesday - the same day shocking footage of Arbery's death went viral

But shocking cellphone footage - taken by Bryan - was leaked this week, showing the two men chasing and gunning down the victim in the street. 

The video showed the men 'ambushing' Arbery as he tried to run past their pickup truck.

In the harrowing footage, Arbery is seen running at a jogging pace on the left side of a road. 

A truck is parked in the road ahead of him. Gregory is inside the pickup's bed, while Travis is standing beside the open driver's side door. 

Arbery crosses the road to pass the pickup on the passenger side, then crosses back in front of the truck.  

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Arbery can be seen stumbling to the ground as the clip comes to a close

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Shocking cellphone video captured the moment the McMichaels confronted Arbery in the street. In the footage Travis is seen engaging in a physical fight with Arbery before shooting him with a shotgun 

A gunshot sounds, and the video shows Arbery grappling with Travis in the street over what appears to be a shotgun or rifle. 

A second shot can be heard, and Arbery can be seen punching Travis. A third shot is fired at point-blank range. Arbery staggers a few feet and falls face down.

The leak of the video sparked outrage across the nation with LeBron James, Justin Bieber and Kendall Jenner all leading cries for the McMichaels to be charged with murder.

The GBI took over the investigation on Tuesday after the video emerged and the McMichaels were finally arrested and charged with murder and aggravated assault Thursday.  

lan Tucker, a criminal defense lawyer in Brunswick, said he had obtained the video from Bryan and released it online to promote 'absolute transparency'.