Ahmaud Arbery's killing trial begins

The trial of three men charged in the murder of Ahmaud Arbery began today in Glynn County, Georgia.

Here's what happened today in court:

• Revisiting the shooting: On Feb. 23, 2020, Arbery was shot dead in a confrontation with the McMichaels in the neighborhood of Satilla Shores, outside the city of Brunswick in Georgia's lowcountry. Arbery was on a jog — something he was known to do, according to those who knew him — when the McMichaels grabbed their guns and pursued Arbery. The men claimed to be conducting a citizen's arrest of Arbery. Bryan had also joined the pursuit and recorded the shooting on his cellphone.
• The jury: After a long and contentious jury selection process in a coastal Georgia county, a panel of 12 people — consisting of one Black member and 11 White members — was chosen Wednesday. The jury was selected after a two-and-a-half-week selection process that ended with prosecutors for the state accusing defense attorneys of disproportionately striking qualified Black jurors and basing some of their strikes on race.
• Video footage: Lead prosecutor Linda Dunikoski presented the state's opening arguments in the trial and played video from the day Arbery was shot and killed. Video of his death sparked national outrage last year when it was released in the months after the shooting. In May 2020, a 36-second video was released showing Arbery jogging down the middle of a street toward a pickup truck stopped in the road. Gregory McMichael was seen in the bed of the truck while his son is standing near the driver's side door with a shotgun.
• Arbery's mother: Wanda Cooper-Jones, Arbery's mother, said she decided to stay inside the courtroom while prosecutors played video of the shooting that killed her son because she wanted to "get familiar with what happened." "I decided to remain in so I could get familiar with what happened to Ahmaud — the last minutes of his life," she said.
• Defense makes its case: The defense attorney for one of the men accused of killing Arbery said his client acted in self-defense. He called Arbery’s death “a tragedy” during his opening statements Friday afternoon. Bob Rubin, one of the attorneys representing defendant Travis McMichael, painted a picture of a neighborhood that was fearful of break-ins and thefts in his opening statements. He attempted to frame McMichael as someone who had a responsibility to protect the Satilla Shore neighborhood where he lived, saying, "This case is about duty and responsibility” in the first lines of his address to the jury.
• Vigil: People outside the Georgia courthouse where the Arbery murder trial unfolded held a prayer vigil Friday morning.

The trial of three men charged in the murder of Ahmaud Arbery has adjourned for the day.

The trial will resume Monday at 9 a.m.

After a break to deal with some technical issues that made it difficult to play video and audio inside the courtroom for most of the day, court resumed with Glynn County police officer William Duggan back on the stand. 

The state played the graphic video from Duggan's body-worn camera, which showed Ahmaud Arbery's body lying in the street face down after he had been shot, then, as the video continued to play, the officer could be seen flipping Arbery over, exposing his blood covered wound. 

Arbery's mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, who remained in the courtroom while the video was played, placed her head in her hands and began to weep, according to a pool reporter in the room. 

One of the jurors was seen covering her face and seemingly unable to watch the video as it was played. 

The jury in the trial of three men charged in the murder of Ahmaud Arbery are watching the body camera footage from Glynn County police officer William Duggan.

The footage was captured on Feb. 23, 2020, after Duggan arrived at the scene in Brunswick, Georgia.

The defense attorney for one of the men accused of killing Ahmaud Arbery said his client acted in self-defense. He called Arbery’s death “a tragedy” during his opening statements Friday afternoon.

Bob Rubin, one of the attorneys representing defendant Travis McMichael, painted a picture of a neighborhood that was fearful of break-ins and thefts in his opening statements. He attempted to frame McMichael as someone who had a responsibility to protect the Satilla Shore neighborhood where he lived, saying, "This case is about duty and responsibility” in the first lines of his address to the jury.

To support his claims, the defense presented a 911 call placed by McMichael on Feb. 11, 2020 – two weeks before Arbury was fatally sho – where the defendant told an operator, “We’ve had a string of burglaries ... I just caught a guy running into a house being built two houses down from me, when I pulled around, he took off running into the house.”

Based on that incident, Rubin said Travis McMichael had “probable cause to believe that Ahmaud Arbery was a burglar.”

Sitting in the courtroom in a gray suite, Travis McMichael listened as Rubin shared how he had been enjoying a beautiful Saturday, when his father, Gregory McMichael, saw Arbery in a neighbor's house that was under construction. Rubin told the court that Gregory McMichael ran into the house and told his son, "Travis, Travis that guy is running down the street." Rubin continued detailing the exchange between the two men, with the elder McMichael telling his son that Arbery was running away from the neighborhood.

The pair got into their truck to follow Arbery, armed with their guns, according to Rubin, who said the weapons were “for their protection.” The defendants intended to detain Arbery for the police, said the attorney. Rubin suggested the shooting death was not murder because "Before the first shot was fired, they called the police."

"That is not evidence of murder,” said Rubin.

When the men caught up with Arbery, the attorney claimed Travis McMichael showed his weapon in an effort to “de-escalate” the situation, but Arbery didn’t say anything to them and didn’t stop moving. Rubin said Arbery ran out of view and then reappeared. Travis was unclear if Arbery was armed, and at that point “fired his weapon in self-defense,” said Rubin.  

“It is tragic that Ahmaud Arbery lost his life, but Travis McMichael was acting in self-defense," the defense attorney said. 

A pool reporter in the room said that Arbery's mother Wanda Cooper-Jones sighed heavily as this was said in court. 

Gregory McMichael's attorney, Frank Hogue, was the next to offer his opening statement.

According to Hogue, the facts in the case for the most part will be “without dispute."

"The why it happened is what this case is about,” said Hogue.

The attorney told the jury a similar version of some of the events leading up to the day of the shooting, as the previous defense counsel had. 

Hogue said that Gregory McMichael told him that when he and his son caught up with Arbery, “he was in abject fear that he is about to witness his only son possible shot and killed before his very eyes. “

Gregory McMichael told investigators after the shooting “my intention was to stop this guy so he could be arrested or be identified at the very least," said Hogue.

Police officer William Duggan is the first witness called by the state in the trial of the three men charged in the killing of Ahmaud Arbery.

Gregory McMichael, Travis McMichael and William "Roddie" Bryan Jr. are on trial for the 2020 killing of Arbery in Georgia.

The jury is expected to see Duggan's body camera footage from the day Arbery was killed.

Before Duggan took the stand, Judge Timothy Walmsley asked anyone who might have a reaction to potentially graphic body camera footage to the leave the gallery before the evidence is presented. 

Duggan has been with the Glynn County police department for 12 years, he said on the stand Friday afternoon.

Following a lunch break in the trial of Travis McMichael, Gregory McMichael and William Bryan, some members of the jury shifted seating positions. 

Two members of the jury joined eleven other members of the panel who were already seated inside the jury box for the morning session of court. According to pool reports, that leaves two jurors sitting in the gallery.

Judge Timothy Walmsley said he was leaving it up to the jurors to decide if they would like to sit together inside the jury box.

When court began today, there were eleven jurors sitting socially distanced inside the jury box, leaving at least one of the participating jurors and three alternates seated on the right-side gallery with cubicle like shields positioned in the middle of the gallery aisle. 

There are other Covid-19 precautions inside the Brunswick courtroom, too. There is room for only a few family members to witness the proceedings. Both the jurors and those there to watch the trial are socially distanced, with some choosing to wear face masks.

A defense attorney for Travis McMichael, one of the three men charged in the killing of Ahmaud Arbery, just started the defense's opening statement.

The trial of the three men charged in the 2020 killing of Ahmaud Arbery has resumed following the court's lunch break.

The defense team is expected to begin its opening statements.