The latest in the trial in the killing of Ahmaud Arbery

The mother of Ahmaud Arbery addressed the testimony she heard earlier from Travis McMichael, the man accused of killing her son, saying she appreciated gaining “some insight on what he was actually thinking.”

“I think his testimony was, first of all I want to say, I appreciate his testimony, because it gave my family and I, some insight on what he was actually thinking,” Wanda Cooper-Jones said speaking on the courthouse steps after the first day of the defense’s presentation.

“Based on what I heard, again, Travis killed Ahmaud all on assumptions. He didn’t have any facts on hand when he chose to pull the trigger. Not one time, but three times,” she added.   

Cooper-Jones was joined by Ahmaud’s father Marcus Arbery Sr. She said the family was grateful for the support they are getting.

The trial of three men charged in the death of Ahmaud Arbery has adjourned for the day and will resume at 9 a.m. ET Thursday.

Travis McMichael speaks from the witness stand on November 17 in Brunswick, Georgia.

Travis McMichael recounted his interaction with Ahmaud Arbery shortly before he shot him on Feb. 23, 2020.

McMichael said Arbery grabbed his shotgun and in that moment, McMichael “was thinking about” his son.

“What did you do?” attorney Jason Sheffield asked Wednesday in court.

McMichael claims he didn’t want to shoot Arbery.

Travis McMichael, one of the defendants, recounted how he felt when he was shown a video from a police officer showing Ahmaud Arbery inside a home under construction on Feb. 23, 2020.

“It’s just bold…it’s a bold move,” McMichael added.

More context: Travis McMichael, who stands accused of chasing and killing Arbery, was the first witness to take the stand Wednesday afternoon, as the defense began to present their case. 

Gregory McMichael, Travis’ father, told police that he and his son pursued Arbery because they suspected he was responsible for a string of recent purported burglaries in the neighborhood.

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 the day of the shooting. Other surveillance videos showed multiple people had trespassed at the home under construction.

Before jurors were allowed into the courtroom Wednesday morning, the defense team made a last-ditch effort to take some of the charges off the table.

Attorney Frank Hogue filed a motion on behalf of his client Gregory McMichael and his son Travis McMichael, asking the court to issue a directed verdict of acquittal on five of the nine charges brought against the men. William Bryan’s attorney, Kevin Gough, joined in the motion. 

Speaking to the court without the jury present, Hogue went through each of the nine charges arguing that there was nothing to support the first count of malice murder. 

The attorney went on to argue that there was no causal link between the remaining eight charges (counts 5 and 9, counts 3 and 7, counts 4 and 8, counts 2 and 6). According to Hogue, there was also no justification for the felony murder charges in counts 2, 3, 4 and 5 of the indictment, because the charges were not directly connected to the underlying felonies of aggravated assault, false imprisonment, and criminal attempt to commit a felony in counts 6, 7, 8 and 9. 

Gough argued that there was no malice or felony murder case against his client, Bryan, and told that court that Bryan was entitled to a directed verdict on “arguably every count in the indictment.” 

State prosecutor Linda Dunikoski rebutted the claims by Hogue and Gough, arguing that all the defendants were parties to the accused crimes and that if the men had not been using their pickup trucks to try and confine and detain Ahmaud Arbery, he would still be alive.

Judge Timothy Walmsley denied the motions for both McMichaels and Bryan.

The judge also denied a pending motion for reconsideration of a special demurrer for the aggravated assault charge in count 7 that was brought by Bryan’s attorney. 

All three defendants were then sworn in by the judge to inquire and inform them of their rights to testify during the trial. This was done outside of the jury’s presence. The defendants said they understood their rights.  

Scenes from the court: Civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson joined Arbery’s parents in the courtroom just before 11 a.m. as Walmsley was asking the defendants if they understood their right to testify, a pool reporter in the room said. 

Noticing Jackson sitting in the courtroom, Gough once again moved for a mistrial. Counsel for Gregory McMichael joined in the motion, Travis McMichael’s attorneys did not.

Walmsley denied the mistrial motion before allowing members of the jury to enter the courtroom.  

Minutes later, Gough began his opening statements. Earlier in the trial, he chose to give his opening after the state concluded their case. 

The defense teams for the three defendants charged in the death of Ahmaud Arbery started their presentation to the jury after lunch Wednesday, calling defendant Travis McMichael as their first witness.

The three White men on trial, Gregory McMichael, his son Travis McMichael and their neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan Jr., are accused of chasing down and killing Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man who was out for a jog on Feb. 23, 2020, in the Satilla Shores neighborhood, just outside the city of Brunswick in Georgia’s low country.

The McMichaels were arrested after a video of the shooting surfaced in May 2020. Bryan was arrested several days later.  

The three men 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 a felony. The McMichaels claim they were conducting a citizen’s arrest and that Travis McMichael acted in self-defense at the time of Arbery’s death. Bryan maintains he is innocent of any wrongdoing.

Each defendant has his own defense team.

Counsel for Gregory and Travis McMichael chose to give opening arguments at the start of the trial. Bryan’s attorney chose to wait until the state rested, giving his opening statement Wednesday morning. 

Some context: Robert Rubin, one of the attorneys representing Travis McMichael, painted a picture of a neighborhood that was fearful of break-ins and thefts in his opening statement.

He attempted to frame McMichael as someone who had a responsibility to protect the Satilla Shore neighborhood where he lived, saying, “This case is about duty and responsibility” in the first lines of his address.

Gregory McMichael’s attorney, Frank Hogue, said the facts in the case for the most part would be “without dispute,” during his opening.

“The why it happened is what this case is about,” said Hogue.

Hogue then told the court “he was in abject fear that he is about to witness his only son possibly shot and killed before his very eyes,“ discussing Gregory McMichael’s feelings when he and his son caught up with Arbery the day of the shooting.

Gregory McMichael told investigators after the shooting “my intention was to stop this guy so he could be arrested or be identified at the very least,” Hogue said.

On Wednesday: Rev. Jesse Jackson joined Arbery’s parents in the courtroom gallery for the defense’s opening, according to a pool reporter in the room. 

A trial jury consisting of 11 White jurors and one Black juror was selected to hear the case following a more than two-week-long selection process that included summoning 1,000 prospective jurors.

If convicted of the state charges, each man could face life in prison without the possibility of parole. 

CNN’s Martin Savidge and Angela Barajas contributed to this report 

Travis McMichael, one of the defendants accused of chasing and killing Ahmaud Arbery, was the first witness to take the stand Wednesday afternoon, as the defense began to present their case. 

“I want to give my side of the story,” he said as he started his testimony.  

Gregory McMichael, Travis McMichael, and William “Roddie” Bryan Jr., are on trial for the 2020 killing of Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia.

Arbery was shot dead on Feb. 23, 2020, in a confrontation with the McMichaels 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.