BRUNSWICK, GA. – The man who shot and killed Ahmaud Arbery faced cross-examination by prosecutors on Thursday, while a large group of Black ministers planned to rally outside court in support of the family. Arbery.
Travis McMichael returned to the witness stand a day after testifying that Arbery forced him to make a “life-or-death” decision in a split second by attacking him and taking his shotgun. McMichael’s testimony marks the first time any of the three white men charged with murder in Arbery’s death have spoken out publicly about the murder.
Now, he faces harsh questioning by prosecutors, who argue there was no reason for McMichael and his father to arm themselves and chase Arbery as he ran past his home. they were in Georgia on February 23, 2020.
Meanwhile, Fr Al Sharpton had scheduled a return on Thursday for a rally with a large group of Black ministers, after a defense attorney fueled frustration in the periphery Brunswick community. Georgia when he said he didn’t want “any more Negro pastors”. in the Glynn County courtroom with the Arbery family.
Attorney Kevin Gough asked the judge to remove Sharpton from court last week, saying the civil rights activist was trying to influence the jury, which is disproportionately white. The judge declined, and later called Gough’s remarks “reprehensible.”
The February 23, 2020, shooting of Arbery after he was found running in the defendants’ neighborhood sparked a nationwide outcry over racial injustice after a phone video of His death was leaked online two months later.
McMichael and his father, Greg McMichael, armed themselves and jumped into a pickup truck to pursue Arbery after he ran across their home from a nearby construction site. A neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan, joined the chase in his own truck and recorded the video on his cell phone.
Prosecutors said the men chased Arbery for five minutes and used their truck to stop Arbery from fleeing their neighborhood before Travis McMichael shot him. They say there is no evidence Arbery committed any crimes.
Arbery was enrolled in a technical college and was preparing to become an electrician like his uncles when he was killed. McMichaels told police they suspected Arbery as a thief because security cameras had captured him multiple times inside their unfinished house across the street.
.
