Jury selected, opening statements begin in hate crimes trial for Ahmaud Arbery's killers
BRUNSWICK, Ga. – Federal prosecutors and defense attorneys selected jurors and began opening statements Monday in the hate crimes trial against three white men convicted of murdering Ahmaud Arbery, who was Black, as he jogged through a coastal Georgia neighborhood nearly two years ago.
Sixteen people were selected, including three Black people, one Hispanic woman and one Pacific Islander woman, to serve as jurors – a more diverse group than the state trial against Travis McMichael, his father, Gregory McMichael, and their neighbor William "Roddie" Bryan.
"I'm very pleased that we do see more Black people on this jury," Marcus Arbery, Ahmaud's father, told reporters.
Federal prosecutors argued during opening statements Monday that the way Travis and Gregory McMichael talked about race behind closed doors, in social media posts and through texts led them to chase, corner and kill Arbery.
"At the end of the day, the evidence will prove if Ahmaud Arbery had been white, he'd have gone out for a jog, checked out a house, and would've been home in time for supper," prosecutor Bobbi Bernstein told jurors.
Gregory McMichael's attorney, A.J. Balbo, called Arbery's killing "an American tragedy" but also reminded jurors that this was not a murder trial.
"This isn't about what happened in the video, it's about what happened before it," Balbo said, alluding to reported break-ins in the Satilla Shores neighborhood that had left the community on edge.
Seven hundred to 800 potential jurors were asked a series of questions over the past week, which included whether they believed the three men charged were guilty and whether the racial undertones of the case would affect their ability to be impartial.
The court on Friday qualified 64 jurors to undergo additional questioning before attorneys winnowed the pool to 12 jurors and four alternates. The trial is expected to last seven to 12 days, said federal judge Lisa Godbey Wood.
Travis, 36, and Gregory McMichael, 66, and Bryan, 52, face one count each of interference with rights and attempted kidnapping. The McMichaels also are charged with one count of using, carrying, and brandishing – and in Travis McMichael's case, firing – a gun during and in relation to a crime of violence.
Although race has been at the center of the case, state prosecutors did not need to prove Arbery's death was racially motivated to secure a conviction – a key difference from the federal trial.
'THIS WAS RACISM': Lawyers say FedEx driver was chased and shot at in Mississippi, drawing comparisons to Arbery's murder
Federal prosecutors argue the McMichaels and Bryan violated Arbery's rights when they willfully interfered with his right to enjoy a public road in the Satilla Shores neighborhood and did so because of Arbery's race.
Several potential jurors said problems with racism are exaggerated and questioned the need for hate crime laws.
Potential juror No. 171, who described himself as a "white man from the South," said during questioning last week that he’s “never seen a real problem with (racism) in my day.” Still, he told prosecutor Christopher Perras, he could support a hate crime conviction “with the right evidence.”
“There would have to be a real drive for them to chase a man because of his skin color, a real history,” said the potential juror, who was qualified to advance in the jury pool.
A woman identified in court as juror No. 156, who was qualified to remain in the jury pool, said, “I just think it doesn’t matter what the race is. If it’s wrong, it’s wrong.”
Unlike the state trial – where jury selection took more than two weeks, partly because of potential jurors' concerns about remaining anonymous – few potential jurors knew the men. Wood issued 1,000 jury summons across the Southern District of Georgia, which spans 43 counties, including Glynn County, where Brunswick sits.
HOW DO YOU PROVE HATE IN THE AHMAUD ARBERY CASE? The answer is more complicated than you think
Proving hate as a motivating factor in the trial will be difficult without direct evidence, Brunswick-based trial attorney Page Pate has said. Prosecutors would have to use jail calls, social media posts or statements from friends, co-workers and others to show racial prejudice or hatred.
“You have to get inside someone’s mind, someone’s heart,” he said. "Here, not only do they have to prove that they killed, they have to prove that they did it because of racial prejudice and hatred.”
Contributing: N'dea Yancey-Bragg, Paste BN; The Associated Press
Raisa Habersham is a watchdog and investigative reporter for The Savannah Morning News, part of the Paste BN Network.