Jury adjourns for day without verdict in Ahmaud Arbery case
BRUNSWICK, GA. >> Three White men who chased and killed Ahmaud Arbery on a residential street acted out of “pent-up racial anger” and should be convicted of hate crimes, a federal prosecutor told a jury Monday. Defense attorneys argued that the Black man was fatally shot in self-defense and had acted suspiciously during prior trips to the neighborhood.
The jury of eight White people, three Black people and one Hispanic person adjourned without a verdict Monday evening after deliberating about for about three hours following closing legal arguments in U.S. District Court. Verdicts on hate crime charges rest not on whether the pursuit and shooting were justified, but whether they were motivated by racism.
The jury was to resume deliberations Tuesday morning.
The trial, which began a week ago, has been taking place simultaneously with that of three former Minneapolis police officers who have been charged with violating the civil rights of George Floyd. Floyd died on May 25, 2020, when then-officer Derek Chauvin pinned him to the ground and pressed a knee to his neck for what authorities say was 9 1/2 minutes. Defense attorneys for the third officer rested their case Monday, paving the way for closing arguments.
In Georgia, prosecutor Christopher Perras argued that Travis McMichael “was just looking for a reason” to hurt a Black person when the 25-year-old Arbery jogged past his home on a Sunday afternoon. Perras cited a slew of racist comments and videos the defendant had posted online.
And when McMichael, his father and a neighbor began chasing Arbery, they had no evidence he had done anything wrong, but they assumed he had because he was Black, Perras said.
When McMichael's father, Greg McMichael, saw Arbery jogging down the street, “he didn't grab his phone and call police,” Perras said. “He called his son and grabbed his gun.”
“There's a big difference between being vigilant and being a vigilante,” said Perras, later adding: “It's important for you to understand the full depth of the defendants' racial hatred.”
Defense attorneys insisted past racist statements by their clients offered no proof that they targeted Arbery because of his race. They urged the jury to set aside emotions when deciding the case.
“It's natural for you to want retribution or revenge,” said Pete Theodocion, Bryan's attorney. “But we have to elevate ourselves ... even if it's the tough thing.”
It's been nearly two years since Arbery fell dead from two shotgun blasts on Feb. 23, 2020, after a five-minute chase through the Satilla Shores subdivision just outside the port city of Brunswick. The slaying was captured in a graphic cellphone video that sparked outrage far beyond Georgia.
Basic facts of the case aren't disputed. The McMichaels armed themselves and chased Arbery in a pickup truck after he was spotted running past their home on a Sunday afternoon. A neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan, joined the pursuit in his own truck and recorded the video of Travis McMichael firing the fatal shots at point-blank range.
Travis McMichael's attorney, Amy Lee Copeland, told the jury prosecutors presented no evidence that he “ever spoke to anyone about Mr. Arbery's death in racial terms” or committed prior acts of racial violence.
Copeland noted the McMichaels pursued Arbery because they recognized him from videos recorded by security cameras inside a neighboring home under construction, which Arbery had entered at night four times in the months before the shooting. She said the behavior was suspicious, though there was no evidence Arbery had stolen anything.
As for the shooting, Copeland said it was “based on self-defense,” with Travis McMichael opening fire after Arbery tried to grab his shotgun.
“Mr. Arbery tried to wrestle the gun out of Travis McMichael's hand,” Copeland said. “You can see the struggle on the recording.”
The McMichaels and Bryan were all convicted of murder last fall in a Georgia state court. The U.S. Justice Department charged them separately in federal court with hate crimes, alleging that all three men violated Arbery's civil rights and targeted him because he's Black. They are also charged with attempted kidnapping, and the McMichaels face counts of using guns in the commission of a crime.