Prosecutor: Men Chased Arbery Just Because He Was a Black Man Running

In her closing argument, Linda Dunikoski, the pb authoritative successful the proceedings of the 3 men charged with the execution of Ahmaud Arbery, said that the defendants had nary justification to prosecute Mr. Arbery oregon to assertion they were performing a citizen’s arrest, due to the fact that they did not person immoderate cognition that Mr. Arbery had committed a transgression that time — they simply assumed that helium had.

“All 3 of these defendants made assumptions astir what was going connected that day,” she said. “And they made their determination to onslaught Ahmaud Arbery successful their driveways, due to the fact that helium was a Black antheral moving down the street.”

Ms. Dunikoski’s notation of Mr. Arbery’s contention was important because, during grounds past week, she did not bring up immoderate instances of racist comments that the men were said to person made, including a assertion by William Bryan that his chap defendant, Travis McMichael, utilized a racist slur conscionable aft fatally shooting Mr. Arbery, a assertion Mr. McMichael’s lawyers deny.

“So what’s going connected here? You cognize what’s truly going connected here,” she said successful her closing argument. “Mr. Arbery was nether attack.”

She added: “They changeable and killed him, not due to the fact that helium was a menace to them, but due to the fact that helium wouldn’t halt and speech to them. And they were going to marque him — perfectly marque him — stop. ‘We’re going to constituent a shotgun astatine you! That volition marque him stop.’”

Mr. Arbery was wrong a partially built location connected Feb. 23, 2020, successful the defendants’ neighborhood. After a neighbour saw him and called police, Mr. Arbery near the location and began running. It was astatine that constituent that Gregory McMichael, Travis McMichael’s father, saw Mr. Arbery and called to his son, and the 2 men began chasing Mr. Arbery successful a pickup truck. Mr. Bryan, a neighbor, soon besides began chasing Mr. Arbery.

The men person said that they were trying to detain Mr. Arbery arsenic portion of a ineligible citizen’s arrest. But Ms. Dunikoski said that Georgia instrumentality called for a idiosyncratic to beryllium successful the beingness of a transgression being committed, oregon person “immediate knowledge” that a transgression was committed, to execute specified an arrest. The instrumentality besides says that a idiosyncratic tin marque specified an apprehension if a felony has been committed and a fishy is “escaping oregon attempting to escape,” but the arresting idiosyncratic indispensable person “reasonable and probable grounds” of suspicion.

Ms. Dunikoski said the 3 men ne'er saw Mr. Arbery wrong the partially built location connected the time of the incident. At most, she said, Mr. Arbery had committed the misdemeanor of trespassing. There is nary grounds that Mr. Arbery had ever taken thing from the house, which helium had visited galore times before.

“Is helium this elephantine burglar who conscionable happened to ne'er amusement up with a bag, oregon immoderate means to bargain anything, each right, oregon is helium a looky-loo?” she said.

Without a ineligible justification to detain Mr. Arbery, Ms. Dunikoski said, the men were fundamentally committing crimes against him.

Understand the Killing of Ahmaud Arbery

She walked the assemblage done the charges — including mendacious imprisonment, aggravated assault, felony execution and malice murder. She mentioned details that emerged successful grounds astir the mode the 3 men successful 2 pickup trucks had chased Mr. Arbery, who ran from them connected foot. She noted that Mr. Bryan had tried galore times to usage his car to halt Mr. Arbery, astatine 1 constituent moving him disconnected the roadworthy into a ditch. She mentioned that Gregory McMichael had told investigators that Mr. Arbery had been trapped “like a rat” aft helium was hemmed successful by the 2 trucks.

She besides walked the assemblage done aspects of the instrumentality that she said made each 3 men culpable successful crimes including murder, adjacent though lone 1 of them had pulled the trigger. She compared their acts to those of a shot squad moving unneurotic to win.

“Everybody gets a Super Bowl ring,” she said.

Ms. Dunikoski’s presumption lasted astir an hour. She suggested that she would workout her close to talk a 2nd clip aft the defence made its closing arguments.