GEORGIA, Oct 19 ― Defence counsel in the trial of three white men accused of murdering Black jogger Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia asked potential jurors yesterday whether they considered the Confederate battle flag a racist symbol.
All have pleaded not guilty. They say they chased and confronted Arbery on a road in Satilla Shores, a mostly white neighbourhood in Glynn County, to make a citizen's arrest. The suspects say that Travis McMichael killed Arbery with a shotgun in self-defence. The three face life in prison if convicted.
The defendants' lawyers negotiated with Judge Timothy Walmsley over what questions they could put to potential jurors, including whether they could ask jurors' views about the Black Lives Matter anti-racism movement. When potential jurors were asked about having a “negative feeling” towards Travis or Gregory McMichael, at least seven jurors raised their hands for each of the men.
Arbery's family and their supporters say he was targeted because he was Black. Defence lawyers say the McMichaels and Bryan were suspicious of Arbery and chased after him in pickup trucks because they saw him go inside a house that was under construction. The owner of the property has said he believed that Arbery had entered the building site for a drink of water and that nothing was stolen.