Attorneys: More to tell in Georgia killing

DECATUR, Ga. — The new attorneys for two white men accused of pursuing and killing a black man in Georgia said Thursday that their clients have been vilified and cautioned against a rush to judgment in a case that has drawn national attention.

Gregory and Travis McMichael, a father and son, are charged with aggravated assault and felony murder in the Feb. 23 death of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery. The case stirred anger after a video of Arbery’s final moments surfaced online last week. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation was called in to take over the seemingly stalled investigation and the McMichaels were arrested less than 48 hours later.

The attorneys for 34-year-old Travis McMichael — Bob Rubin and Jason Sheffield — said at a news conference Thursday that while the shooting itself was captured on video, much remains unknown about events leading up to the killing.

“Right now we are starting at the end,” Sheffield said outside their metro Atlanta law office. “We know the ending. What we don’t know is the beginning.”

Laura and Frank Hogue, a husband and wife criminal-defense team based in Macon, said they have been hired to represent Gregory McMichael, 64.

Attorneys for Arbery’s family have said a man shown on security video Feb. 23 inside a house that was under construction was Arbery — and that the footage shows him committing no crimes. Arbery was killed a short time later.

According to a report by Glynn County police, Gregory McMichael said he and his son armed themselves and chased Arbery in a pickup after seeing him run down their street. Gregory McMichael told police he suspected Arbery was a burglar, and said Arbery attacked Travis McMichael before he was shot in a struggle over the gun.

(AP/Ron Harris) Attorney Jason Sheffield (left) and his law firm partner, Robert Rubin, respond Thursday to reporters’ questions outside their office in Decatur, Ga.