BRUNSWICK, Ga. —

A police officer testified Thursday that he told a white father and son on trial for hate crimes in the killing of Ahmaud Arbery there was no evidence the 25-year-old Black man had stolen anything after security cameras recorded him wandering inside a home under construction several times.

“Nothing has been taken and the only crime we had was trespassing,” said Glynn County police Officer Robert Rash, who took the witness stand on the fourth day of the trial in U.S. District Court in the Georgia port city of Brunswick.

Father and son Greg and Travis McMichael and a neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan, were convicted in state court of murdering Arbery and sentenced to life in prison. Now they're standing trial again in a separate case brought by federal prosecutors, who charged them with violating Arbery's civil rights and targeting him because he was Black.

The jury has been shown roughly two dozen text messages and social media posts in which Travis McMichael and Bryan used racist slurs and made derogatory comments about Black people. Some of Travis McMichael's posts described violence against Black people.

Investigators searching Travis McMichael's truck two months after the shooting photographed a Confederate flag sticker inside the lid of a tool box attached to the bed of the pickup, Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent Jason Seacrist testified Thursday.

He said a decorative vanity plate depicting Georgia's former state flag, which prominently featured a Confederate emblem, had been removed from the truck's bumper before GBI agents photographed it in May 2020. The tag can be seen on the truck in police body camera footage from the day of the shooting. Georgia retired that version of its flag two decades ago.

The McMichaels and Bryan have pleaded not guilty to the hate crime charges. Defense attorneys say the three didn't chase and kill Arbery because of his race but acted on earnest, though erroneous, suspicion that Arbery had committed crimes in their neighborhood.

However, Bryan told investigators he had never seen Arbery before the chase, which Bryan joined after Arbery ran past his home with the McMichaels' truck close behind him. Bryan told police he didn't know the McMichaels either but called out to them: “Y'all got him?”

“I just figured he'd stolen something," Bryan told Seacrist in a recorded interview played in court. “He might have shot somebody. I didn't know what was up.”

The McMichaels were aware that a young Black man had been seen several times in the unfinished home in the months before the shooting. When Arbery ran past their home, five doors down from that property, on Feb. 23, 2020, they grabbed guns and pursued him in a pickup truck. Bryan joined the chase and recorded cellphone video of Travis McMichael blasting Arbery with a shotgun.

No arrests were made until the graphic video leaked online two months later and Arbery’s killing became part of a larger national reckoning over racial injustice.

Twelve days before the shooting, Rash was dispatched to the construction site after Travis McMichael called 911, breathlessly reporting that a Black man he had spotted outside the home ran inside.

“He reached into his pocket and ran into the house,” Travis McMichael told a police dispatcher. “I don't know if he's armed or not.”

The man he had confronted, later determined to be Arbery, was gone when police arrived. Rash called the unfinished home's owner, confirming none of the security videos showed Arbery stealing from the property.

“He hasn't seen him actually take anything,” Rash told both McMichaels on video recorded by the officer's body camera that night.

Travis McMichael also told the 911 operator that “we've been having a lot of burglaries and break-ins around here lately."

Rash said that wasn't true. He testified there wasn't a single burglary in the Satilla Shores neighborhood where the McMichaels and Bryan lived in the year before the shooting. He noted that items had been stolen from unlocked cars — including guns taken from two vehicles, one a handgun that belonged to Travis McMichael.

Rash noted a security camera recorded a white man suspected of the other gun theft in the area. He also testified that a white couple carrying what looked like a canvas bag had been recorded in November 2019 walking into the same unfinished home that Arbery visited several times.

Greg McMichael's attorney, A.J. Balbo, said it was Arbery's repeated trips to the unfinished home at night, not his race, that made the McMichaels wary of him.

“Would you agree with me, sir, that the fact that Mr. Arbery had been in the residence in the dark in October, in November, in December and in February is a little suspicious?” Balbo asked Rash.

The officer said he agreed.

“Had the white couple repeatedly come after dark, over and over, that would have been suspicious," Rash said.

BRUNSWICK, Ga. —

The man convicted of murder for shooting Ahmaud Arbery withdrew his guilty plea on a federal hate crime charge Friday, electing to stand trial for a second time in the 2020 killing of a Black man that became part of a larger national reckoning over racial injustice.

Travis McMichael reversed his plan to plead guilty in the federal case days after a U.S. District Court judge rejected terms of a plea deal between defense attorneys and prosecutors that was met with passionate objections by Arbery’s parents.

Asked by U.S. District Judge Lisa Godbey Wood for his decision, McMichael said: “I withdraw the plea.”

His father, Greg McMichael, backed down from a plan to plead guilty in a legal filing late Thursday. Wood said jury selection in the hate crimes trial will begin Monday.

The McMichaels and a neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan, were convicted of murder in a Georgia state court last fall and sentenced to life in prison. Georgia lacked a hate crimes law at the time of the killing. The U.S. Department of Justice had them indicted on charges that the three white men violated Arbery’s civil rights and targeted him because he was Black.

The McMichaels armed themselves and chased Arbery in a pickup truck after spotting the 25-year-old man running past their home just outside the port city of Brunswick on Feb. 23, 2020. Bryan joined the pursuit in his own truck and recorded cellphone video of Travis McMichael blasting Arbery with a shotgun.

The father and son had planned to plead guilty to a hate crime charge after prosecutors and defense attorneys agreed to propose a 30-year sentence that would include a request to transfer the McMichaels from Georgia’s state prison system to federal custody. The deal would have required the McMichaels to admit to racist motives and forfeit the right to appeal their federal sentence.

Wood rejected the deal Monday after Arbery’s parents argued that conditions in federal prison wouldn’t be as harsh. Wood said she ultimately denied the deal because it would have locked her into a specific sentence.

Prosecutors asked the judge to approve the plea deals despite the objections from Arbery's family. Prosecutor Tara Lyons said that attorneys for Arbery's parents had told the U.S. Justice Department that the family wouldn't object.

But Lee Merritt, an attorney for Arbery's mother, said the slain man's family had previously rejected the same terms and “no longer wanted to engage” with prosecutors, who "took that as a deferral.”

During the murder trial in state court, defense attorneys argued the McMichaels were justified in pursuing Arbery because they had a reasonable suspicion that he had committed crimes in their neighborhood. Travis McMichael testified that he opened fire with his shotgun after Arbery attacked him with fists and tried to grab the weapon.

This week marks the end of another long and busy year in the world of news.

2021 was a year filled with political turmoil and extreme weather events, with the specter of the coronavirus constantly lingering in the background.

But 2021 also showed the best of humanity — people coming together to uplift others when times got tough.

Re-live some of the biggest moments from 2021 in the timeline below.

Jan. 6 — Supporters of President Donald Trump storm the U.S. Capitol as Congress certifies presidential election results. Five people died in the riots, and a week later, Trump would be impeached for the second time in his only term in office.

Jan. 20 — Under increased security in Washington, Joe Biden is sworn in as the 46th president of the United States.

Feb. 13 — Trump is acquitted in the impeachment trial stemming from his actions amid Jan. 6 riots at the Capitol. Seven Republican senators voted to convict Trump, though he easily avoids conviction by a total of 10 votes.

Feb. 13 to Feb. 17 — Winter storms cause weeklong power outages in Texas, killing more than 200 people.

Feb. 18 — In a heart-pounding and gripping landing sequence, NASA rover Perseverance completes its 300 million mile journey by successfully landing on Mars.

March 16 — A gunman kills eight people — including six Asian women — at several Atlanta-area spas. The shootings draw more attention to rising instances of hate crimes against people in the AAPI community that began with the arrival of COVID-19 in 2020.

April 11 — Police officer Kim Potter fatally shoots motorist Daunte Wright in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, sparking protests. In December, that officer, Kim Potter, would be convicted of two counts of manslaughter.

April 15 — Daily COVID-19 vaccinations peak in the U.S. as age restrictions are lifted. The daily vaccination rate would dip in the summer, but begin to rise in the later months of 2021 as boosters are approved and mandates go into effect.

April 20 — Ex-officer Derek Chauvin is convicted of George Floyd's murder in Minneapolis. Floyd's death in 2020 sparked months of protests against police brutality and systemic racism; activists greet Chauvin's conviction with cheers.

May 6 — Hackers shut down Colonial Gasoline Pipeline with a ransomware attack, leading to gas shortages in some regions. The hack is the highest-profile ransomware attack in a year that saw a disturbing increase in such incidents.

June — Delta variant arrives in the U.S., spelling the start of a summer surge in COVID-19 cases and deaths. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the delta variant would cause a steady rise in cases and deaths starting in June, leading to a peak in early September.

June 24 — A condo tower collapses in Surfside, Florida, killing 98 people.

Aug. 10 — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announces his resignation amid sexual harassment allegations. He announced his resignation a week after New York AG Letitia James published a damming report that spelled out several workplace harassment and sexual harassment charges against Cuomo.

Aug. 30 — The last U.S. troops leave Afghanistan, marking the end of America's longest war. The withdrawal grew chaotic in the final weeks after the U.S.-backed government in Afghanistan fell to the Taliban.

Sept. 1 — A controversial "fetal heartbeat bill" takes effect in Texas that bans nearly all abortions in the state. The newly-conservative Supreme Court later declines to take action to pause the law while lower courts sort out lawsuits levied in an attempt to stop it.

Oct. 18 — Former Sec. of State Colin Powell dies of COVID-19 at the age of 84.

Nov. 5 — Ten people die, and hundreds are injured in a crushing crowd at Travis Scott's Astroworld music festival in Houston.

Nov. 19 — Kyle Rittenhouse is acquitted of all charges stemming from fatal shootings that took place in Kenosha, Wisconsin, during protests following the police shooting of Jacob Blake. Rittenhouse was just 17 at the time of the shooting and not legally allowed to own a gun, but jurors determined he acted in self-defense.

Nov. 24 — Three Georgia men are convicted of the 2020 murder of Ahmaud Arbery, a Black man who was out for a jog in his hometown of Brunswick, Georgia. The men had accused Arbery of a series of break-ins in the area; jurors determine the men were not justified to detain Arbery on the grounds of a since-repealed citizen's arrest law.

Dec. 10 — Tornadoes kill dozens of people in western Kentucky and surrounding states.

Dec. 11 — A day after losing his home in those Kentucky tornadoes, Jordan Baize inspires millions across the country by playing "There's Something About That Name" on his family piano, which survived the storms.

Dec. 23 — Kim Potter is convicted of manslaughter from the April shooting of Daunte Wright.

Dec. 29 — Ghislaine Maxwell is convicted of sex trafficking charged linked to her involvement with Jeffrey Epstein.

BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) — A judge in coastal Georgia has set a sentencing date early next year for the three men convicted of murder in the killing of Ahmaud Arbery.

An order signed Monday by Superior Court Judge Timothy Walmsley sets a Jan. 7 sentencing hearing for father and son Greg and Travis McMichael and their neighbor, William "Roddie" Bryan.

The three white men in November were convicted of murder and other crimes in the February 2020 killing of the 25-year-old Black man.

According to the Associated Press, 35-year-old Travis McMichael was convicted of all charges, 65-year-old Greg McMichael was convicted of all charges except malice murder, and 52-year-old Bryan was convicted of three counts of felony murder and one count of aggravated assault, as well as false imprisonment and criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment.

Malice and felony murder convictions both carry a minimum penalty of life in prison.

The judge decides whether that comes with or without the possibility of parole.

President Joe Biden said Wednesday the guilty verdicts in the trial for the killing of Ahmaud Arbery "reflect our justice system doing its job," but added, "That alone is not enough.""Nothing can bring Mr. Arbery back to his family and to his community, but the verdict ensures that those who committed this horrible crime will be punished," Biden said in a statement."While the guilty verdicts reflect our justice system doing its job, that alone is not enough. Instead, we must recommit ourselves to building a future of unity and shared strength, where no one fears violence because of the color of their skin," he continued. "My administration will continue to do the hard work to ensure that equal justice under law is not just a phrase emblazoned in stone above the Supreme Court, but a reality for all Americans."Vice President Kamala Harris similarly said in a statement Wednesday evening that the verdicts "send an important message, but the fact remains that we still have work to do.""The defense counsel chose to set a tone that cast the attendance of ministers at the trial as intimidation and dehumanized a young Black man with racist tropes. The jury arrived at its verdicts despite these tactics," Harris said.Their comments came after a jury found three white men charged in the killing of Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man, guilty on multiple murder counts, as well as other charges. The verdict, delivered by nine white women, two white men and one Black man, followed more than 11 hours of deliberation spanning two days.The defendants in the case -- Travis McMichael, his father, Gregory McMichael, and their neighbor William "Roddie" Bryan Jr. -- had been arrested last year after the shooting of Arbery in the Satilla Shores neighborhood outside Brunswick, Georgia, on Feb. 23, 2020.Arbery had been on a jog -- a common pastime, according to those who knew him -- when the McMichaels grabbed their guns and pursued him.The men said they believed Arbery had committed a crime. Evidence introduced in the trial showed the men had chased Arbery through the streets as he repeatedly tried to elude them. The McMichaels, who were armed, were in one vehicle, while Bryan, who joined while the chase was underway, followed in his own truck, assisting in and recording the chase. Arbery was unarmed and on foot.Video of the killing showed Travis McMichael exit his truck and confront Arbery before fatally shooting him as the two tussled."The video is clear: Ahmaud Arbery was killed in cold blood," Biden had tweeted in May 2020. "My heart goes out to his family, who deserve justice and deserve it now. It is time for a swift, full, and transparent investigation into his murder."In the lead-up to the verdicts, the White House had declined to weigh in on the trial. White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on Monday, "I'm not going to speak to, obviously, an ongoing trial.""I will note, though, that the president has spoken many times to this horrific event in the past. And it's not just about this case, in his view; we have a lot of work to do as a nation," she added. "And it's just a reminder of why the president has prioritized rooting out systemic racism."

Jury deliberations were scheduled to resume for a second day Wednesday in the trial of three white men charged with chasing and killing Ahmaud Arbery after the 25-year-old Black man was spotted running in their coastal Georgia neighborhood.

The disproportionately white jury received the case around midday Tuesday and spent about six hours deliberating before adjourning without a verdict in the trial of father and son Greg and Travis McMichael and their neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan.

Superior Court Judge Timothy Walmsley told jurors to reconvene at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday.

The McMichaels told police they suspected Arbery was a fleeing burglar when they armed themselves and jumped in a pickup truck to chase him on Feb. 23, 2020. Bryan joined the pursuit when they passed his house and recorded cellphone video of Travis McMichael blasting Arbery at close range with a shotgun as Arbery threw punches and grabbed for the weapon.

Arbery’s killing became part of a larger national reckoning on racial injustice after the graphic video of his death leaked online two months later and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation took over the case, quickly arresting the three men. Each of them is charged with murder and other crimes.

Defense attorneys contend the McMichaels were attempting a legal citizen’s arrest when they set off after Arbery, seeking to detain and question him as a suspected burglar after he was seen running from a nearby home under construction.

Travis McMichael testified that he shot Arbery in self-defense, saying the running man turned and attacked with his fists while running past the idling truck where Travis McMichael stood with his shotgun.

Prosecutors said there was no evidence Arbery had committed crimes in the defendants’ neighborhood. He had enrolled at a technical college and was preparing at the time to study to become an electrician like his uncles.

BRUNSWICK, Ga. — During closing arguments Monday in the murder trial for the three white men involved in fatally shooting Ahmaud Arbery, the prosecution argued that none of the suspects had cause to make a citizen's arrest when they saw him in their neighborhood.

Linda Dunikoski told jurors in her closing arguments Monday that the three defendants decided to pursue Arbery "because he was a Black man running down their street."

The closing arguments come after both the prosecution and defense concluded arguments to the jury last week. Reports also emerged last week that a lawyer for one of the men on trial sought a plea deal before the defense rested its case.

According to prosecutors, Arbery was jogging in Brunswick on Feb. 23, 2020, when he briefly stopped inside a home under construction.

When the McMichaels saw Arbery in the area, they armed themselves and chased after him in a pickup truck because they believed him to be responsible for a series of break-ins in the neighborhood.

Video from the incident showed the McMichaels drive up beside Arbery. A struggle followed for a few moments before Travis McMichael fired his gun, and Arbery stumbled to the ground.

Defense attorneys insist the three men committed no crimes and that Travis McMichael only fired his weapon after a "violent encounter" with Arbery. The defense has also argued that the men were empowered to take Arbery into custody thanks to a since-repealed citizen's arrest law that was in effect at the time of the shooting.

Prosecutors would not file charges in connection with the shooting for nearly three months and only after the video of the shooting became public.

Between the shooting and the video's release, the case passed between several judicial circuits and district attorneys. Some of them worked with Greg McMichael during his time working as a police officer and investigator.

One ex-prosecutor, Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney Jackie Johnson, has been indicted for misconduct related to her work on the case.

The McMichaels were arrested and charged with murder on May 7, 2020. Bryan was arrested two weeks later.

After 10 days of court proceedings with more than 20 witnesses and investigators providing testimony, prosecutors and defense attorneys will begin closing arguments Monday in the trial over the killing of Ahmaud Arbery.

The trial has touched on multiple conversations occurring in state legislatures and courtrooms, from the role of race in the criminal justice system and how video evidence can spur action, to self-defense rights and the consequences of using firearms on public streets.

Supporters of Arbery have held prayer vigils and marches outside the courthouse in Brunswick, the county seat of Glynn County, Georgia.

Arbery was jogging through a residential area near Brunswick when three men pursued him in their vehicles, culminating in Arbery being shot and killed by one of the men on Feb. 23, 2020.

Defense attorneys have said their clients were trying to conduct a lawful citizen's arrest of Arbery, whom they suspected of burglary.

The three men — Travis McMichael, who fired the shots that killed Arbery; his father Gregory McMichael, a former police officer and investigator in the local district attorney's office; and their neighbor William "Roddie" Bryan Jr. — are charged with malice and felony murder. The men have pleaded not guilty.

Charges were not filed against the defendants for months until cellphone video from Bryan that showed the shooting sparked outrage and condemnation over the glacial progress in the case. The first two prosecutors recused themselves due to conflicts of interest, citing their proximity to Gregory McMichael during his professional career.

Additional charges levied against the defendants include aggravated assault, false imprisonment and criminal attempt to commit a felony. If convicted, each man could face life in prison without the possibility of parole.

All three men have also been indicted on federal hate crime and attempted kidnapping charges.

Prosecutors cite inconsistencies from Travis McMichael

Over the course of two days, Travis McMichael gave testimony concerning the moments before, during and after the shooting. Prosecutors during cross-examination Thursday pressed McMichael on discrepancies in his statements and actions.

McMichael said during testimony Wednesday that he and his father had an encounter less than two weeks before the shooting with a Black man, who was "creeping through the shadows" near a home under construction. Residents testified in court that a spate of burglaries had hit the neighborhood before the shooting.

McMichael testified that on the day of the shooting, his father told him he saw "the guy that has been breaking in down the road." Jumping into their truck, Travis McMichael said they caught up to Arbery and tried talking to him twice, who did not respond.

Travis McMichael said he noticed another truck in the neighborhood. Prosecutors contend Bryan, the third defendant, got in his own truck and joined the pursuit, though he did not know what was going on, and struck Arbery with his vehicle.

Eventually pulling ahead of Arbery down the road, McMichael testified, he parked his vehicle and exited, then pointed his shotgun at Arbery as he approached, telling him to stop. McMichael claims Arbery got to the truck, grabbed the rifle and struck McMichael before he then shot Arbery.

On Thursday, prosecutor Linda Dunikoski challenged McMichael over what she said were inconsistencies in his accounts to authorities. That included not telling police initially that he and his father were trying to make a citizen's arrest, though that's what the defense has since contended. She also covered differences in his accounts on when and where he told Arbery certain things, such as to stop.

McMichael responded he was "scattered" and "mixed up" in the hours after the shooting, because "this is the most traumatic event I've ever been through in my life."

McMichael also acknowledged several times, under Dunikoski's questioning, that he never saw Arbery armed during the pursuit, never heard Arbery verbally threaten him and that Arbery never responded or showed any interest in conversing with McMichael as he tried to ask what he was doing.

Racial aspects have not gone unnoticed

Race has been a noticeable factor surrounding the case, with three white men standing accused in the death of the Black jogger. In a county that has a 69% population of white residents and 26% Black, according to Census Bureau data, 11 of the 12 jurors are white.

Satilla Shores, the neighborhood where the shooting took place, is just outside Brunswick city limits. About 55% of the 16,200 residents in Brunswick are Black, compared to 40% who are white, according to the Census data.

Judge Timothy Walmsley said before opening statements he would allow the case to move forward, but he said the court "has found that there appears to be intentional discrimination" in the jury selection.

Ben Crump, an attorney for Arbery's father, said Arbery had been "denied justice" and was highly critical of the jury makeup, adding, "A jury should reflect the community," he said on Nov. 4.

Days prior, Bryan's attorney Kevin Gough complained that older white men from the South without four-year college degrees, "euphemistically known as 'Bubba' or 'Joe Six Pack,'" seemed to be underrepresented in the pool of potential jurors that had turned up.

As testimony proceedings moved forward, Gough continuously decried the presence of Black pastors in the public gallery who were there to offer support for Arbery's family.

Last Thursday, noting the attendance of the Rev. Al Sharpton during the trial, Gough said he had "nothing personally against" Sharpton, adding, "We don't want any more Black pastors coming in here or other Jesse Jackson, whoever was in here earlier this week, sitting with the victim's family trying to influence a jury in this case." Gough apologized for his remarks the next day.

Walmsley stated throughout the case that as long as there were no disruptions from the gallery, no measures would be taken by the court regarding attendance.

The Rev. Jackson joined Arbery's parents and sat in the gallery for the first time after Gough's comments. On Thursday at the courthouse steps, hundreds of Black ministers and pastors joined Sharpton in a prayer gathering supporting Arbery's parents and family.

"Our agenda is that the God we serve will give strength to this woman and this man and this family and an agenda that God would give us justice in this courtroom," Sharpton said during the outdoor gathering. "We did not come for an ulterior motive."

BRUNSWICK, Ga. —

Warning: The live video above may contain descriptions of graphic injuries and/or offensive language.

The man who fatally shot Ahmaud Arbery faces cross-examination by prosecutors Thursday, while a large group of Black ministers planned to rally outside the courthouse in support of Arbery’s family.

Travis McMichael returns to the witness stand a day after testifying that Arbery forced him to make a split-second “life-or-death” decision by attacking him and grabbing his shotgun. McMichael’s testimony marked the first time any of the three white men charged with murder in Arbery’s death has spoken publicly about the killing.

Now he faces aggressive questioning by prosecutors, who contend there was no justification for McMichael and his father to arm themselves and chase Arbery when he ran past their Georgia home on Feb. 23, 2020. Prosecutor Linda Dunikoski is expected to lead the cross-examination.

Meanwhile, the Rev. Al Sharpton planned to return Thursday for a rally with a large group of Black ministers, after a defense attorney intensified frustrations in the coastal Georgia community of Brunswick when he said he didn’t want “any more Black pastors” sitting in the Glynn County courtroom with Arbery’s family.

Attorney Kevin Gough asked the judge last week to remove Sharpton from the court, saying the civil rights activist was trying to influence the jury, which is disproportionately white. The judge refused, and later called Gough’s remarks “reprehensible.”

The Feb. 23, 2020, shooting deepened a national outcry over racial injustice after cellphone video of Arbery's death leaked online two months later.

McMichael and his father, Greg McMichael, armed themselves and pursued Arbery in a pickup truck after he ran past their home from a nearby house under construction. A neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan, joined the chase in his own truck and recorded the video.

The McMichaels told police they suspected Arbery was a burglar because security cameras had recorded him several times in the unfinished house on their street.

Prosecutors say the men chased Arbery for five minutes and used their trucks to prevent him from fleeing their neighborhood before Travis McMichael shot him. They say there’s no evidence that Arbery — who had enrolled at a technical college to study to become an electrician like his uncles — had committed any crimes.

BRUNSWICK, Ga. —

Warning: The live video above may contain graphic and/or offensive images and language.

The shotgun blasts that hit Ahmaud Arbery punched a gaping hole in his chest and unleashed massive bleeding, a medical examiner testified Tuesday as jurors saw autopsy photos that showed Arbery's white T-shirt stained entirely red.

Testifying at the murder trial of the three white men who chased Arbery down, Dr. Edmund Donoghue said Arbery was hit by two of the three shotgun rounds fired at him. He said both gunshots caused such severe bleeding that either blast alone would have killed the 25-year-old Black man.

The first shot at close range tore through an artery in Arbery's right wrist and punched a big hole in the center of his chest, breaking several ribs and causing heavy internal bleeding, said Donoghue, a medical examiner for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

The second shot missed entirely, while the third shot fired at point-blank range ripped through a major artery and vein near his left armpit and fractured bones in his shoulder and upper arm.

“Is there anything law enforcement or EMS could have done to save his life at the scene?" prosecutor Linda Dunikoski asked the medical examiner.

“I don’t think so. No,” Donoghue replied.

Donoghue performed an autopsy on Feb. 24, 2020, the day after Arbery was slain. The jury saw close-up photos of his injuries, which included several large abrasions to Arbery's face from when he fell facedown in the street following the third gunshot. Photos of his clothing showed his T-shirt stained entirely red. Cellphone video of the shooting shows it had been white.

Asked by Dunikoski how Arbery was able to fight back after sustaining such a severe chest wound from the first gunshot, the medical examiner called it a “fight or flight reaction” that raised his heart rate and blood pressure while sending adrenaline coursing through his body. He said ultimately Arbery would have bled to death from the initial chest wound alone.

The testimony came a day after the judge refused to declare a mistrial over defense claims that jurors were tainted when Arbery's mother wept over an evidence photo, which called attention to the presence of the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who was sitting beside her in the courtroom's public gallery.

Defense attorney Kevin Gough on Monday asked the judge to make the civil rights leader leave to avoid unfairly influencing the jury. Superior Court Judge Timothy Walmsley refused and described as “reprehensible” Gough’s complaints last week that the defense attorney did not ”want any more Black pastors coming in here.”

Father and son Greg and Travis McMichael armed themselves and pursued Arbery in a pickup truck after spotting him running in their neighborhood. Their neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan joined the chase and took cellphone video of Travis McMichael shooting Arbery. All three men are charged with murder and other crimes.

The McMichaels told police they chased Arbery suspecting he was a burglar after security cameras recorded him several times inside a home under construction, five houses away. Defense attorneys say the younger McMichael fired his gun in self-defense after Arbery tried to take it from him.

Prosecutors say they chased Arbery for five minutes to keep him from leaving the Satilla Shores subdivision outside the port city of Brunswick. The chase ended when Arbery, trailed by Bryan's truck, tried to run around the McMichaels' truck as it idled in the road ahead. The video shows Travis McMichael confronting Arbery and then shooting him as he throws punches and grapples for the gun.

Robert Rubin, one of Travis McMichael's attorneys, noted that the medical examiner wrote in his report that Arbery died from wounds “sustained during a struggle for a shotgun.”

“Were you aware that Mr. Arbery had his hand on the gun?” Rubin asked Donoghue, who answered that he was.

Despite the gunshot to his right wrist, Rubin said, “nothing prevented Mr. Arbery from holding the gun with one hand and swinging and punching with the other hand.”

BRUNSWICK, Ga. —

Jurors in the trial of three white men charged in Ahmaud Arbery’s killing saw graphic photos of the shotgun wounds that killed him.

They heard a defendant’s description of having the 25-year-old Black man “trapped like a rat” during the five-minute chase that ended in his death. And they heard the men’s explanation for thinking Arbery was suspicious and possibly armed.

The trial of father and son Greg and Travis McMichael and their neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan wrapped up its first full week of testimony Friday. Each is charged with murder and other crimes in the death of Arbery, who was fatally shot last year after he was spotted running in the defendants' coastal Georgia neighborhood.

Bryan's cellphone video of the shooting dramatically raised the killing's profile, making it part of a larger national outcry over racial injustice.

The trial is expected to continue through at least next week. Here are some key moments so far.

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GRUESOME IMAGES

Several jurors squirmed when a Glynn County police investigator walked them through dozens of crime scene photos of Arbery's body as it lay in the street where he fell dead after being shot three times on a Sunday afternoon in February 2020. They included close-up images of shotgun wounds to his wrist and grievous injuries to his chest and underneath one of his arms.

Arbery's mother remained in the courtroom throughout the presentation, while his father stepped outside before it began.

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SHIFTING SUSPICION

The jury heard from two police officers about Greg McMichael changing his story on the day of the shooting, when asked why he initiated the deadly chase.

Officer Jeff Brandeberry said McMichael told him at the scene that Arbery had been recorded by security cameras “breaking in all these houses out here.” Later that day, McMichael told Detective Parker Marcy that Arbery had been recorded inside a single home — one that was still under construction, with no doors or windows. He noted there had been other break-ins in the neighborhood, and “logic tells you this guy may be the one that’s doing it."

Prosecutors say there's no evidence Arbery took anything from the unfinished home.

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‘INACTIVE’ INVESTIGATION

Prosecutors have called to the witness stand eight officers who took part in the initial investigation by Glynn County police — which ended up making no arrests in the case. Arbery had been dead for more than two months when the McMichaels and Bryan were charged with murder. That happened only after the video of the shooting leaked online and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation took over.

Stephan Lowrey, the lead county investigator in Arbery's killing, testified that he hadn't closed the case before it got handed to the bureau. “It was still open but not getting much traction,” Lowrey testified. He added: “I think ‘inactive’ was a fair summary.”

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‘TRAPPED LIKE A RAT’

Glynn County investigators testified that on the day of the shooting, both Greg McMichael and Bryan described using pickup trucks to prevent Arbery from fleeing the Satilla Shores neighborhood, named for the Little Satilla River that flows past its homes on Brunswick’s edge.

McMichael said he wanted the running man detained until police could arrive and question him. “He was trapped like a rat,” McMichael told police Sgt. Roderic Nohilly.

Bryan said he joined the pursuit without knowing Arbery, the McMichaels or why they were chasing him. Lowrey testified that Bryan several times mentioned maneuvering his truck to edge Arbery off the road, though the investigator said none of the actions Bryan described struck him as a serious crime.

“I didn’t hit him,” Bryan said. “Wish I would have. Might have took him out and not get him shot.”

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A WITNESS, NOT A SUSPECT

Lowrey also told Bryan's attorney, Kevin Gough, from the witness stand that he considered Bryan to be a witness to the shooting. Asked by Gough if he thought Bryan committed aggravated assault or any other felonies with his truck during the chase, the investigator replied: “No, that wasn’t the way I interpreted it at the time.”

Meanwhile, Glynn County police Officer Robert Rash noted that 12 days before Arbery was shot, Travis McMichael reported seeing him trespassing in the neighborhood. McMichael told police Arbery reached toward his pocket as if reaching for a gun. Rash's body camera video showed him searching that night for Arbery with a flashlight and his gun drawn.

“So it’s standard procedure when you’re going into a possibly armed situation to be sure you have your gun ready, for your protection?” Robert Rubin, one of Travis McMichael's attorneys, asked the officer. Rubin added: “Travis McMichael has a right to carry a gun. He has a right to protect himself.”

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OBJECTION OVER SHARPTON

The Rev. Al Sharpton visited the Glynn County courthouse to pray with Arbery's parents outside and then joined them in the courtroom to hear some of the trial testimony.

The civil rights activist's visit upset Bryan's attorney, Gough, who told the judge he believed Sharpton was trying to influence the jury.

“Obviously there’s only so many pastors they can have,” Gough said. “And if their pastor’s Al Sharpton right now that’s fine, but then that’s it. We don’t want any more Black pastors coming in here."

Sharpton shot back that Gough's comments showed "arrogant insensitivity” to Arbery's family.

There was no ruling from the judge, as Gough made no formal motion to exclude pastors from court.

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — Georgia's attorney general is appointing a black district attorney to take over the case involving the slaying of Ahmaud Arbery.

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr said in a press release

that the case would be turned over to District Attorney Joyette M. Holmes of the Cobb County Judicial Circuit.

“Today, our office formally appointed District Attorney Joyette M. Holmes of the Cobb County Judicial Circuit to lead the prosecution. District Attorney Holmes is a respected attorney with experience, both as a lawyer and a judge, and the Cobb County District Attorney’s office has the resources, personnel and experience to lead this prosecution and ensure justice is done.”

Holmes is the third outside prosecutor assigned to the case since Arbery was slain Feb 23.

The case went more than two months without arrests until last week, when video of Arbery's shooting surfaced online.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation charged a white father and son with felony murder and aggravated assault.

A Justice Department spokeswoman said Monday that federal prosecutors are looking at the evidence to determine if federal hate crime charges are warranted.

Warning: This article contains graphic details. Discretion is advised.

Jurors were shown graphic, closeup police photos Monday of the gunshot wounds that killed Ahmaud Arbery, the 25-year-old Black man who was slain after being chased by white men in pickup trucks who saw him running in their Georgia neighborhood.

Glynn County police Sgt. Sheila Ramos walked the jury through dozens of crime scene photos she took about an hour after the shooting on Feb. 23, 2020. She said she collected two spent shotgun shells at the scene, and investigators found a third fired shell still inside the bloodstained 12-gauge shotgun.

Arbery's father, Marcus Arbery Sr., left the courtroom before graphic photos of his son's body were shown in open court. Wanda Cooper-Jones, the slain man's mother, stayed and could be heard exhaling quietly as Ramos identified closeup images of a gaping shotgun wound in her son's chest.

Father and son Greg and Travis McMichael armed themselves and used a pickup truck to pursue Arbery after they spotted him running in their neighborhood. A neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan, joined the chase and took cellphone video of Travis McMichael shooting Arbery in the street at close range.

No arrests were made for more than two months, until the video of the killing leaked online and sparked a national outcry, deepening a national reckoning over racial injustice. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation took over the case from local police. Both McMichaels and Bryan were soon charged with murder and other crimes.

Defense attorneys said the men were justified to chase and attempt to detain Arbery because he had been recorded by security cameras inside a nearby home under construction and they suspected he was a burglar. They say Travis McMichael fired in self-defense when Arbery attacked him with fists and tried to grab his gun.

Several jurors could be seen squirming in their seats as Ramos showed Arbery's body lying in the street under a bloodstained covering. Other images showed the cover pulled back and his shirt raised so she could photograph gunshot wounds to his wrist as well as grievous injuries to his chest and underneath one of his arms.

Ramos said Arbery had nothing in his pockets — no keys, cellphone, wallet or ID. Police identified his body using his fingerprints, she said.

She also photographed a home near the shooting scene where one of the shotgun blasts sent a projectile through a front window and into an inside wall. No one at the home was injured.

The jury seated Friday for the trial is disproportionately white. Prosecutors complained at the end of jury selection last week that several Black potential jurors were excluded because of their race, leaving only one Black juror on the panel of 12.

Superior Court Judge Timothy Walmsley said he found that “intentional discrimination” by defense attorneys appeared to have shaped jury selection. But he said Georgia law limited his authority to intervene.

Opening statements will take place Friday in the trial of three white men in Brunswick, Georgia, who are charged with chasing and fatally shooting Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man.

The death in February 2020 was recorded on video and caused a national outcry.

Jurors are to be sworn in Friday for the trial of father and son Greg and Travis McMichael and their neighbor, William "Roddie" Bryan, who have been charged with murder and other crimes.

Jury selection concluded Wednesday when the judge declined to override decisions on the final makeup of the jury. The 12-person panel consists of 11 white jurors and one Black juror.

While the prosecution objected and Superior Court Judge Timothy Walmsley agreed there appeared to be "intentional discrimination," he said he was limited by Georgia law because defense attorneys stated non-racial reasons for excluding Black panelists from the jury, The Associated Press reports.

According to prosecutors, Arbery was jogging in Brunswick on the day of the shooting when he briefly stopped inside a home under construction.

When the McMichaels saw Arbery in the area, they armed themselves and chased after him in a pickup truck because they believed him to be responsible for a series of break-ins in the neighborhood.

Video from the incident showed the McMichaels drive up beside Arbery. A struggle followed for a few moments before Travis McMichael fired his gun, and Arbery stumbled to the ground.

Defense attorneys insist the three men committed no crimes and that Travis McMichael only fired his weapon after a "violent encounter" with Arbery.

Prosecutors would not file charges in connection with the shooting for nearly three months and only after the video of the shooting became public.

Between the shooting and the video's release, the case passed between several judicial circuits and district attorneys. Some of them worked with Greg McMichael during his time working as a police officer and investigator.

One ex-prosecutor, Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney Jackie Johnson, has been indicted for misconduct related to her work on the case.

The McMichaels were arrested and charged with murder on May 7, 2020. Bryan was arrested two weeks later.

GLYNN COUNTY, Ga. —

As jury selection got slowly underway Monday in the trial of three white men charged with fatally shooting Ahmaud Arbery as he was running in their Georgia neighborhood, potential jurors said they came in with negative feelings about the case and worried about the personal consequences of serving on the jury.

The slaying of the 25-year-old Black man sparked a national outcry fueled by graphic video of the shooting leaked online more than two months after Arbery was killed. Father and son Greg and Travis McMichael and their neighbor William "Roddie" Bryan are charged with murder and other crimes in Arbery's death on Feb. 23, 2020, just outside the port city of Brunswick.

With hundreds called, jury selection could last two weeks or more. Arbery's father said he was praying for an impartial panel and a fair trial, saying Black crime victims too often have been denied justice.

"This is 2021, and it's time for a change," Marcus Arbery Sr. told The Associated Press. "We need to be treated equally and get fair justice as human beings, because we've been treated wrong so long."

The first panel of 20 jurors was sworn in and questioned Monday afternoon.

When Judge Timothy Walmsley asked the group if their minds were neutral regarding both sides of the case, only one raised a hand. Asked if they were already leaning toward either side, about half raised their hands to indicate yes.

"Please raise your card if you would like to serve on this jury," prosecutor Linda Dunikoski instructed as she wrapped up her questions for the group.

At first, nobody did. Finally, one young man raised his hand.

Jason Sheffield, one of Travis McMichael's attorneys, asked the group whether they had any negative feelings about the three defendants. More than half raised their hands.

After being questioned as a group, the potential jurors were questioned individually. Their answers reflected the intense attention the case has attracted, their existing ideas about the case and their apprehensions about being involved in such a high-profile case.

An Air Force veteran and gun owner who was the first to be questioned said he had a negative impression of Greg McMichael but not the other defendants.

"I got the impression he was stalking," the man said, saying he based that on news coverage and from seeing the video of the shooting "fewer than five times."

"From what I observed, he appeared to be the lead dog," the panel member said of Greg McMichael, a retired investigator for the local district attorney's office. Still, he said he had not made up his mind about innocence or guilt.

Another panelist said he had seen so much about the slaying in the news and on social media that "I'm sick of it."

He said he shared the video of Arbery's shooting on social media and discussed the case with his brothers — one of whom was also among the 1,000 people mailed a jury summons in the case.

A retired accountant said she had negative feelings about the defendants but tried to avoid an opinion on guilt or innocence. She also expressed misgivings about sitting on the jury.

"How would I feel if I was asked to render a verdict that was unpopular?" she said. "Any verdict, guilty or innocent, is going to be unpopular with some people."

"Maybe I'd even feel unsafe," she added.

The court hasn't identified the race of any of the prospective jurors.

Arbery's killing stoked outrage during a period of national protests over racial injustice. More than two months passed before the McMichaels and Bryan were charged and jailed — only after the video leaked online and state investigators took over the case.

Prosecutors say Arbery was merely jogging when the McMichaels grabbed guns and chased him in a pickup truck. Bryan joined the pursuit in his own truck and recorded the now-infamous cellphone video of Travis McMichael shooting Arbery three times at close range with a shotgun.

As she was questioned by defense attorneys, one potential juror — a young woman who's a teacher — had harsh words for Bryan.

"His videotaping the scene was disgusting and vicious," she said. "However, at the same time I'm thankful that he did, because we are able to see what happened."

Defense attorneys insist the three men committed no crimes. Greg McMichael told police they believed Arbery was a burglar after security cameras previously recorded him entering a nearby home under construction. He said Travis McMichael fired in self-defense after Arbery punched him and tried to grab his weapon.

Investigators have testified that they found no evidence of crimes by Arbery, who was unarmed, in the Satilla Shores subdivision.

As a precaution against the coronavirus, 600 jury pool members were ordered to report to a gymnasium to provide room for social distancing. They were summoned to the courthouse in groups of 20, Glynn County Superior Court Clerk Ronald Adams said.

Ultimately, 12 jurors will be seated plus four alternates to fill in for any jurors who get sick or are dismissed before the trial ends.

The judge dismissed eight total potential jurors before adjourning Monday evening. Four others were individually interviewed but no final decision was made on their status. Jury selection was to resume Tuesday morning.

Once a jury is seated, the trial itself could take more than two weeks, Adams said.

A former Georgia prosecutor was booked on charges related to the alleged mishandling of the Ahmaud Arbery case.

On Wednesday, former Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney Jackie Johnson turned herself in at the Glynn County jail and then was released on her own recognizance, so she did not have to post bail, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

Last week, a grand jury indicted Johnson on charges of violating her oath of office and hindering a law enforcement officer.

According to the newspaper, Johnson allegedly instructed officers not to arrest Travis and Gregory McMichael for the alleged shooting on Feb. 23.

The Associated Press reported that the father and son remained free until the cell phone video that recorded the shooting was leaked to the public on May 5. After a national outcry, they were arrested two days later.

Arbery was fatally shot on February 23, 2020, after a white father and son armed themselves and pursued the 25-year-old Black man after spotting him running in their neighborhood.

Greg McMichael, who had worked for Johnson as an investigator, allegedly called her after the shooting.

He retired in 2019, the AP reported.

The AP reported that Johnson maintained she didn't do anything wrong, saying she recused her office from the case because of its relationship with Greg McMichael.

The indictment comes five months before the McMichaels and the man who recorded the fatal shooting, William “Roddie” Bryan's trial begins.