Murder trial for the killing of Ahmaud Arbery begins with jury selection in Georgia

By Eric Levenson, Dakin Andone and Angela Barajas, CNN

Three White men accused of chasing down and killing Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man out for a jog, are set to stand trial for murder in Georgia this week in a case thick with issues of racism, self-defense and cellphone video.

Gregory McMichael, his son Travis McMichael and their neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan Jr. are charged with malice and felony murder and have pleaded not guilty. They also face charges of aggravated assault, false imprisonment and criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment.

Jury selection in their state trial began Monday in a Glynn County courtroom, where the three defendants sat next to their own counsel.

According to the Glynn County Clerk of Superior and Magistrate Court, 600 potential jurors have been summoned to appear in an offsite location Monday, and the jurors will be placed in panels of 20 once they make their way to the Glynn County Superior Court. Another 400 potential jurors have been summoned to appear next Monday.

By the end of the selection process, 12 jurors and four alternates will be chosen to serve.

Arbery was fatally shot February 23, 2020, while out jogging in Brunswick in an incident partly captured on video. The McMichaels said they were conducting a citizen’s arrest on Arbery, who they suspected of burglary, and that Travis McMichael shot him with a shotgun in self-defense. Bryan, who recorded the video, allegedly hit Arbery with his truck after he joined the McMichaels in chasing Arbery.

After the shooting, the three men were allowed to leave the scene and weren’t arrested until after video of the incident was made public in early May.

The video and the delay in making the arrests, along with the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor last year, helped spark nationwide Black Lives Matter protests that challenged how the legal system treats Black people.

Arbery’s mother, Wanda Cooper Jones, spoke to CNN’s Chris Cuomo on Monday after jury selection began and said she “never thought the day would come,” noting it “took over 600 days to get to this day.”

She added: “This is the same community that stood outside today as I entered the courtroom and rallied for Ahmaud, so I do feel confident we will have success in this.”

The McMichaels and Bryan have also been indicted on federal hate crime and attempted kidnapping charges. They have pleaded not guilty to those charges as well.

With its focus on video evidence, the case bears some resemblance to the trial of ex-Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin, who was convicted of murder in Floyd’s death. In addition, the issues of vigilantism and self-defense offer similarities to the trial of George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watchman who was acquitted in 2013 of killing 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.

How we got here

Arbery was shot dead in a confrontation with Travis and Gregory McMichael 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. Gregory McMichael, a former police officer and investigator in the local district attorney’s office, later told police Arbery and his son had struggled over his son’s shotgun, and that Travis McMichael shot Arbery after the latter attacked him, according to the initial police report.

Bryan had joined the pursuit and recorded the shooting on his cellphone.

Gregory McMichael told police he and his son had pursued Arbery because they suspected he was responsible for a string of recent purported burglaries in the neighborhood. A Glynn County Police spokesperson later said there had only been one burglary — a gun stolen from an unlocked vehicle in front of the McMichaels’ home — reported in more than seven weeks prior to the shooting.

Additionally, McMichael said he saw Arbery inside a home under construction. Arbery was seen entering the home in surveillance video at the site, but the owner of the home told CNN he did not see Arbery commit any crime other than “trespassing” the day of the shooting.

For months, the case lay dormant, and two prosecutors recused themselves due to conflicts of interest.

But in May, video taken by Bryan of the fatal interaction was made public, and the McMichaels were arrested days later. The three were all jointly indicted by a grand jury in June 2020.

At a preliminary hearing last June, Georgia Bureau of Investigation Assistant Special Agent in Charge Richard Dial testified Bryan told investigators he heard Travis McMichael use a racial epithet after shooting Arbery. McMichael had also used racial slurs numerous times on social media and on messaging services, Dial said.

Attorneys for the three defendants have said they acted in self-defense. But Dial testified the opposite was true.

“I believe Mr. Arbery was being pursued, and he ran till he couldn’t run anymore, and it was turn his back to a man with a shotgun or fight with his bare hands against the man with the shotgun. He chose to fight,” he said. “I believe Mr. Arbery’s decision was to just try to get away, and when he felt like he could not escape, he chose to fight.”

The district attorney at the time, Jackie Johnson, was voted out of office amid the backlash. In September, she was indicted on charges of violating her oath as a public officer and obstructing a police officer for allegedly interfering with the arrest of Travis McMichael. Johnson has denied wrongdoing.

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CNN’s Eliott C. McLaughlin and Amir Vera contributed to this report.