Prosecutors say men chased Ahmaud Arbery 'based on the color of his skin'

Feb. 14 (UPI) -- Prosecutors in the federal hate crimes trial of the three White men who chased down and killed Ahmaud Arbery said the men used racist language and targeted Arbery because he was Black in opening arguments Monday.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Bobbi Bernstein told jurors that Travis McMichael, his father Greg McMichael and their neighbor William Bryan pursued Arbery "based on the color of his skin" while he was jogging in a Georgia neighborhood in February 2020 before the younger McMichael shot him three times while Bryan filmed.

"At the end of the day, the evidence in this case will prove that if Ahmaud Arbery had been White, he would have gone for a jog, checked out a cool house under construction, and been home in time for Sunday supper," said Bernstein. "Instead, he went out for a jog and ended up running for his life."

The McMichaels and Bryan were convicted on state murder charges last year and sentenced to life in prison in January. The three white men now face federal hate crimes charges in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia.

Bernstein also said the younger McMichael referred to Black people as "animals, criminals, monkeys and sub-human savages," citing a quote in which he used a racial slur as he told a friend "I love what I do now," because he did not work with any Black people.

She also said the elder McMichael allegedly told a colleague he was glad that Atlanta civil rights leader Julan Bond had died.

"He was nothing but trouble," he said, according to Bernstein. "Those Blacks are nothing but trouble."

Bernstein cited messages from Bryan shortly before Arbery's killing where he learned his daughter was dating a Black man and referred to him as a "monkey" and by using racial slurs.

The defendants' attorneys acknowledged the men's language but said they did not pursue Arbery because of his race, but rather because they saw him enter an unfinished house.

"Greg and Travis McMichael followed Ahmaud Arbery not because he was a Black man, but because he was the man who had been illegally entering the house that was under construction," A.J. Balbo, the defense attorney representing the elder McMichael, said.

Earlier in the trial, defense lawyers filed a motion on Monday seeking to have the hate crimes trial dismissed, arguing that four of the charges were not filed properly and said the fifth was filed on the basis of prejudice, First Coast News reported. The judge denied the motion.

Monday also saw the selection of the jury, of which eight are white, three are Black and one is Hispanic, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. The four alternate jurors are all white.

First Coast News reported that 11 of the jurors, including the alternates, are women and five of them are men.

Barbara Arnwine, president of the Transformative Justice Coalition, told First Coast News that the jury makeup is "encouraging" and Arbery's father is "very pleased."

Arbery's family was also seen arriving at the courthouse in Brunswick for the final day of jury selection ahead of opening arguments.

U.S. District Judge Lisa Godbey Wood, who is presiding over the case, warned jurors Monday that they may be exposed to offensive material submitted as evidence.