Prosecutors in Georgia have alleged an unarmed black jogger killed last year “was under attack” by the three white men who confronted him.
Opening arguments in the Ahmaud Arbery murder trial began on Friday with prosecutors playing the full video of the 25-year-old’s final moments.
Gregory and Travis McMichael and William Bryan have pleaded not guilty to all charges against them.
The defence has called for a mistrial, arguing prosecutors misled the jury.
The three men say they confronted Mr Arbery in order to make a citizen’s arrest – allowed at the time under Georgia law – because they suspected he had stolen from a nearby construction site.
The McMichaels have also said they acted in self defence, accusing Mr Arbery of attacking Travis when they tried to stop him.
Prosecutors are seeking to prove that racial bias – not facts and evidence – influenced the actions taken by the three defendants.
Lead prosecutor Linda Dunikoski argued the men had no knowledge of Mr Arbery committing any crimes but “assumed the worst”.
“All three of these defendants did everything they did based on assumptions.”
She portrayed the actions of Mr McMichael, 65, his son Travis, 35, and their neighbour Mr Bryan, 52, who filmed the incident as “driveway decisions”.
In a lengthy opening statement, Ms Dunikoski laid out a months-long timeline for the court, showing that Mr Arbery never stole from or damaged the site. She also added that, because the site was unsecured, he was not trespassing either.
“The only thing Mr Arbery did was run away,” she said.
Prosecutors played video and audio evidence to support their argument that the property owner was already handling the matter with local police, but the McMichaels acted on hearsay as soon as they saw Mr Arbery running.
“They didn’t simply follow Mr Arbery. All three ‘trapped him like a rat’ with their two pickup trucks,” said Ms Dunikoski, using the elder Mr McMichael’s own words.
She added that Mr Bryan tried to hit the jogger four times with his car, getting so close that Mr Arbery’s palm prints and T-shirt fibres were later visible on the vehicle.
“No one said I’m making a citizen’s arrest today,” she told the jury.
According to court reporters, the young jogger’s father Marcus Arbery briefly left the courtroom as the video of his son’s killing played. Wanda Cooper-Jones, his mother, was seen weeping and looking away.
Earlier, in twin blows to the defence, the judge ruled that evidence of recent cannabis use by Mr Arbery was not relevant to the case, but that the McMichaels’ Confederate flag license plate was admissible as evidence.
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