Trial in Arbery case wraps first full week

Judge Timothy Walmsley dismissed jurors Friday with strict instructions not to speak about the trial of three Georgia men accused of killing a black man in their neighborhood in February 2020. The defense argues that Greg McMichael and his son Travis attempted a lawful citizen’s arrest that tragically ended in Ahmaud Arbery’s death. The defense cross-examined a police officer on Friday who testified that he would have given Arbery a trespassing warning for repeatedly entering a home construction site. The prosecution argues Arbery was targeted because he was black. An investigator who interviewed William “Roddie” Bryan read transcripts where Bryan said he joined the chase because he had an “instinct” that Arbery had done something wrong. The trial will resume with further cross-examination on Monday.

What else happened this week? Defense attorney Kevin Gough sparked an outcry after he said he did not want “any more black pastors” in the courtroom. The Rev. Al Sharpton sat in the back of the room with the family, but Gough said he and other high-profile black pastors such as the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who is expected to attend next week, might intimidate the jury. The jury was not in the room when he raised the objection. Gough apologized on Friday, and the judge said Sharpton and any pastor are allowed to attend with the Arbery family as long as they do not disrupt the court. Sharpton held a prayer vigil and news conference in support of the family on Wednesday afternoon.

Dig deeper: Listen to Trillia Newbell’s reflection on Arbery’s death on The World and Everything in It.