Trial for Ahmaud Arbery, Black man killed while jogging, begins in Georgia

Three armed white men pursued and killed Arbery as he jogged through their neighbourhood in February 2020. The accused face several charges including hate crime.

Greg McMichael said his son Travis, pictured, killed Arbery in self-defense after Arbery attacked with his fists and tried to take Travis McMichael's gun.
AP

Greg McMichael said his son Travis, pictured, killed Arbery in self-defense after Arbery attacked with his fists and tried to take Travis McMichael's gun.

Three white men are to stand trial on Friday in the shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man.

Fifteen total panelists will hear the trial — 12 jurors plus three alternates. 

The judge has not given the races of the alternate jurors, and they were not asked to state their race in open court.

Court officials have said the trial could last two weeks or more.

If the defendants – Greg McMichael and his adult son, Travis McMichael – are acquitted, their legal troubles won't be over. They have also been indicted on federal hate crime charges. 

A US District Court judge has scheduled that trial to begin on February 7.

Superior Court Judge Timothy Walmsley planned to have the trial jury sworn in on Friday to hear opening statements from prosecutors and defence attorneys. 

All three defendants are standing trial together, charged with murder and other felony counts.

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How was Arbery killed?

Arbery's killing was largely ignored until a leaked cellphone video stirred outrage that deepened a national reckoning over racial injustice. 

Greg McMichael and Travis McMichael, armed themselves and pursued Arbery in a pickup truck as he ran through their neighborhood just outside the Georgia port city of Brunswick on Feb 23, 2020. 

A neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan, joined the chase and recorded graphic video of Travis McMichael shooting Arbery three times with a shotgun.

Georgia's response to the killing has become part of a broader effort to address racial injustice in the criminal legal system after a string of fatal encounters between police and Black people such as George Floyd in Minnesota and Breonna Taylor in Kentucky.

READ MORE: Three white men charged with hate crimes in Ahmaud Arbery's murder

Arbery had been dead for more than two months before the McMichaels and Bryan were charged and jailed last year. 

Greg McMichael, a retired investigator for the local district attorney, told police the men were trying to stop Arbery because they suspected he was a burglar. Security cameras had recorded him entering a nearby house under construction.

Self-defence?

Greg McMichael said his son killed Arbery in self-defence after Arbery attacked with his fists and tried to take Travis McMichael's gun.

Prosecutors say Arbery was merely out jogging, was unarmed and had committed no crimes in the neighborhood. When Bryan's video of the killing leaked online in May 2020, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation took over the case from local police.

GBI agents arrested the McMichaels the next day, and charged Bryan two weeks later.

The killing of Arbery has dominated news stories and social media feeds in Brunswick and surrounding Glynn County, a coastal community of about 85,000 people.

READ MORE: What makes Ahmaud Arbery’s murder trial so crucial in the US?

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