Our live coverage has ended. You can read more about the first day of deliberations here.
The jury in the trial of three men accused of killing Ahmaud Arbery finished deliberations for the day and is breaking for the night.
The jurors will reconvene at 8:30 a.m. ET Wednesday.
The Jury spent just over six hours deliberating today, beginning at 11:53 a.m. and ending around 6:20 p.m. ET.
The jury is considering charges against Gregory McMichael, Travis McMichael and William “Roddie” Bryan Jr., who are charged with malice and felony murder in Arbery’s death. The 25-year-old Black man was jogging in Brunswick, Georgia, when he was fatally shot in 2020.
The jury has been deliberating for more than three hours in the trial for Ahmaud Arbery’s 2020 killing.
Gregory McMichael, his son Travis McMichael and William “Roddie” Bryan Jr. are charged with malice and felony murder
Arbery’s killing sparked national outrage after a video of his shooting was made public. The 25-year-old Black man was out for a jog in Brunswick, Georgia, when he was fatally shot.
As we wait for a verdict to be reached, here’s a timeline of the case:
CNN’s Eliott C. McLaughlin, Devon M. Sayers, Alta Spells, Christina Maxouris contributed reporting to this post.
The jury considering charges for Travis McMichael, Gregory McMichael and William “Roddie” Bryan Jr., the three men accused of killing Ahmaud Arbery, deliberated over lunch, the court’s bailiff told the pool producer in the courtroom.
The jury received the case shortly before noon today.
The trial jury consisting of 11 White jurors and one Black juror began deliberating on the charges facing Travis McMichael, his father Gregory McMichael and their co-defendant William “Roddie” Bryan Jr., the three men accused of chasing and killing 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery just before noon this morning.
There are nine White females, two White males and one Black male serving on the trial jury, with two White females and one White male serving as jury alternates, according to CNN analysis of juror data.
The 12-member trial jury and three alternates were selected after a protracted jury selection process that lasted two and a half weeks and included summoning 1,000 prospective jurors from the South Georgia coastal community.
Georgia’s Glynn County is about 70% White and 27% Black according to information from the US Census Bureau.
The makeup of the jury was challenged by the state at the conclusion of the jury selection process. Lead prosecutor, Linda Dunikoski, claimed defense attorneys disproportionately struck qualified Black jurors and based some of their strikes on race.
The judge overseeing the case said, “This court has found that there appears to be intentional discrimination,” but ruled that the case could go forward with the selected jurors because the defense was able to provide valid reasons, beyond race, for why the other Black jurors were dismissed.
Jury deliberations began at 11:53 a.m. ET on Tuesday.
As the jury started deliberations in the trial of the three men accused in the killing of Ahmaud Arbery, his parents and family attorney made short statements outside the courtroom in Brunswick, Georgia.
Wanda Cooper-Jones, Arbery’s mother, said that the lead prosecutor Linda Dunikoski “did a fantastic job” in her final rebuttal.
“It’s time to allow the legal process to take its course. We are confident that the state put all the evidence out necessary to convict these men on all charges, and we’re confident that this jury will seriously consider all the evidence and come back with a verdict that is reflective of what actually happened which is the brutal and unjustified murder of Ahmaud Arbery,” said Lee Merritt, who represents Arbery’s mother.
Arbery’s father, Marcus Arbery Sr., said what he saw in the courtroom was “devastating,” but also expressed confidence in getting a guilty verdict.
The jury has been released to begin deliberations in the trial of Travis McMichael, Gregory McMichael and William “Roddie” Bryan Jr., the three men accused of killing Ahmaud Arbery.
Judge Timothy Walmsley spent about 50 minutes providing instructions to the jury.
The state of Georgia has accused the three White men with chasing down and killing Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man, while he was out for a jog on Feb. 23, 2020, in the Satilla Shores neighborhood, just outside the Georgia city of Brunswick.
The jury deciding the case consists of 11 White jurors and one Black juror.
Each of the defendants face nine separate charges, including malice and felony murder (four), aggravated assault (two), false imprisonment, and criminal attempt to commit a felony.
If the jury finds Bryan not guilty of the second aggravated assault charge, they can consider three lesser misdemeanor charges for simple assault, reckless conduct, or reckless driving.
The defendants have pleaded not guilty to all nine charges. 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 innocence of any wrongdoing.
Before jury deliberations began, the judge in the trial over the killing of Ahmaud Arbery read the jury instructions in court on Tuesday.
During the trial, the prosecution and defense argued over whether the defendants had the right to make a citizen’s arrest when they attempted to detain Arbery. The state’s position was that the defendants did not have this right because they had not observed or had no “immediate knowledge” of any crime committed by Arbery when they confronted him on February 23, 2020.
The defense raised numerous objections to the state’s description of the law for making a citizen’s arrest. Throughout the trial, the judge reminded the jury that despite these arguments, it would be his responsibility to instruct them on how to interpret the law.
While reading the instructions, the judge noted that “the defendants have raised the defense that even if they have committed the acts described in the indictment, there are circumstances that justify it,” including that they were attempting to make a “lawful” citizen’s arrest.
Here is how the judge described a lawful citizen’s arrest for the jury:
The judge added that a “private person” may not attempt to make a citizen’s arrest based on the “unsupported statement of others alone.”
He said that the citizen’s arrest must occur “immediately after” the crime occurs or “in the case of felonies, during escape.”
“If the observer fails to make the arrest immediately after the commission of the offense, or during the escape in the case of felonies, his power to do so is extinguished,” he said.
Judge Timothy Walmsley is reading the jury instructions after the prosecution wrapped its final rebuttal in the trial. The jury will then begin deliberations.
Travis McMichael, along with his father Gregory McMichael and neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan Jr., face charges including malice murder and felony murder in the killing of Arbery on Feb. 23, 2020. The men pursued Arbery — whom they suspected of burglary — in their vehicles, which led to Travis McMichael fatally shooting Arbery.
In her closing rebuttal, Linda Dunikoski, the lead prosecutor, argued that the defendants cannot use the claim of self-defense and asked the jury to find the men “guilty for all of the charges in the indictment.”
“They started it; they do not get to claim self-defense. And then, of course, provocation. You can’t force someone to defend themselves against you so you get to claim self-defense. This isn’t the Wild West. No. So there’s three instances where the defendants don’t get to claim self-defense,” Dunikoski told the jury.
What we know about the jury: The jury consists of one Black member and 11 White members. The jury’s makeup has drawn criticism from Arbery’s family and put into focus the South’s history of racial exclusion in jury selection.
Ben Crump, an attorney representing the Arbery family, expressed his disappointment in the jury selection earlier this month, saying the final panel doesn’t represent the population of the city were both Arbery and the defendants lived.
“A jury should reflect the community. Brunswick is 55% Black, so it’s outrageous that Black jurors were intentionally excluded to create such an imbalanced jury in a cynical effort to help these cold-blooded killers escape justice,” Crump said in a statement.
CNN’s Nicole Chavez and Brandon Tensley contributed reporting in this post.
Lead prosecutor Linda Dunikoski spent just under two hours this morning, rebutting claims made during the defense team’s closing arguments on Monday.
This ends the presentations from attorneys in the trial over the death of Ahmaud Arbery.
Judge Timothy Walmsley is expected to instruct the jury before deliberations begin.
Lead prosecutor Linda Dunikoski wrapped up a nearly two-hour-long rebuttal argument by telling the jury that this case is about “holding people accountable” for crimes that they committed.
Dunikoski told the jury that “nobody gets a free pass” when they commit a crime like this.
“Nobody gets a free pass. Would you get a free pass? Who gets a free pass? No, the law basically says, if you commit the crime, you are going to be held responsible,” she said.
She repeated for the jury that the case is not about whether somebody is a “good person or a bad person.”
Dunikoski asked the jury to find the defendants guilty of all charges.
Prosecutor Linda Dunikoski told the jury that all three defendants — Travis McMichael, Gregory McMichael, and William “Roddie” Bryan — are equally responsible for the murder of Ahmaud Arbery.
Dunikoski said during her rebuttal argument on Tuesday that even though it was Travis McMichael who pulled the trigger and shot and killed Arbery, the other two defendants are culpable in his death because they were a “party to the crime.”
She said that the McMichaels were “working together” to chase Arbery in their pickup truck.
“What are they doing in the truck? They are working together, Greg and Travis McMichael. That’s why they are both responsible. You can think Greg McMichael is not a murderer? Yes, he is. He is just as big of a murderer as Travis McMichael,” Dunikoski said.
Dunikoski said Bryan “decided to help” the McMichaels by chasing Arbery with his truck — at one point, “assaulting” Arbery with his vehicle — while he filmed the pursuit.
“Without Bryan chasing Ahmaud towards [the McMichaels], we would not be here,” she said.
Lead prosecutor Linda Dunikoski played audio of the 911 call that Gregory McMichael made on February 23, 2020, when he, his son Travis McMichael and William “Roddie” Bryan Jr. are accused of confronting and shooting 25-year-old Black man Ahmaud Arbery to death in Brunswick, Georgia.
On the call, McMichael can be heard saying:
“What gives you the right to order Ahmaud Arbery to stop?” Dunikoski said in court.
“He didn’t know what [Arbery had] done that day, but he assumed the worst; he must have committed some crime,” Dunikoski added. “‘What’s your emergency?’ ‘There’s a Black man running down the street.’”
Prosecutor Linda Dunikoski told the jury during her rebuttal argument that the McMichaels had no law enforcement authority to stop Ahmaud Arbery.
The lead prosecutor noted that Travis McMichael never told Arbery or the police, after the shooting, that he was attempting to make a citizen’s arrest or mentioned any specific crime that he saw Arbery commit.
“Wouldn’t that be really, really important? Hey, I was trying to effectuate a citizen’s arrest for a crime I know he committed. Would that now be something to tell the police? Never once, never told Mr. Arbery he was under arrest,” Dunikoski said.
The state’s rebuttal argument is ongoing.
Prosecutor Linda Dunikoski re-played for the jury a video on Tuesday of Ahmaud Arbery seen inside a Satilla Shores construction site a few weeks before he was shot.
In the clip, Arbery is seen walking around inside the construction of a home in the neighborhood before running off.
Dunikoski noted that one of the law enforcement officers who testified during the trial said that Arbery’s actions looked consistent with criminal trespassing, a misdemeanor.
Dunikoski argued that the defense’s suggestion that Arbery was “plundering” around the construction site and committed burglary, a felony, was not accurate.
On why the defense is suggesting that Arbery committed a burglary, Dunikoski said, “Because they want it to be a burglary so it’s a felony, so then they can chase him down.”
Dunikoski continued by playing a clip of a conversation between police and Gregory McMichael where he said that Arbery’s actions appeared to be “criminal trespassing.”
Prosecutor Linda Dunikoski told the jury during her rebuttal argument on Tuesday that it is unlawful to base a citizen’s arrest on “rumors” and “gossip.”
“Facebook does not alone give you probable cause to go arrest somebody. Rumors in the neighborhood do not give you probable cause alone to go and arrest somebody,” she continued.
Why she is talking about Facebook: During the trial, witnesses for the defense testified about a neighborhood Facebook group where residents in the area would post about and discuss crime in the neighborhood.
Defense witness Sube Lawrence said she was an administrator for a neighborhood Facebook page in which she would keep up with what people said about crime in the area, and was in touch with a neighbor who would alert her if there was a “suspicious person lurking” at a nearby home under construction so that Lawrence could get her children inside.
After Arbery’s shooting, she testified that Travis McMichael asked her to accept him in the Facebook group with a different last name because his account had been hacked, so that he could look at what people were saying.
Travis McMichael also talked about the group on the stand. During the prosecution’s cross-examination, Dunikoski asked him about what she called his “attitudes toward … vigilantism.” She asked about a January 2019 Facebook exchange with someone, in which that person felt that examples needed to be made out of somebody if they steal things.
“You (responded), ‘That’s right. Hope y’all catch the vermin,’” Dunikoski said.
“That’s correct,” McMichael said.
CNN’s Christina Maxouris contributed reporting to this post.
The jury was dismissed from the courtroom this morning, after attorneys for the McMichaels objected to some of the prosecutor’s descriptions of the law during the state’s closing argument rebuttal and called for a mistrial.
Judge Timothy Walmsley heard arguments from both sides before denying the motion for mistrial.
Linda Dunikoski, the lead prosecutor in the trial of Ahmaud Arbery’s killing, argued that the defendants cannot use the claim of self-defense.
“One can use lethal force and self-defense, but only under certain circumstances. You can’t claim self-defense if you are the unjustified initial aggressor — meaning if you started it. Who started this? Wasn’t Ahmaud Arbery,” Dunikoski said during the prosecution’s final rebuttal this morning.
Gregory McMichael, Travis McMichael and William “Roddie” Bryan Jr., who are White, face charges including malice and felony murder in the killing of Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man, after chasing him in a neighborhood near Brunswick, Georgia, on February 23, 2020.
“This is the important one: cannot commit aggravated assault with a shotgun, with trucks, false imprisonment, or criminal attempt at false imprisonment, any of those. Not justified using force, if you’re doing any of those things; they were doing all four of them. And you’re not justified in using force, if that person was the unjustified aggressor. You can’t start it and claim self-defense,” she said.
Prosecutor Linda Dunikoski said during her rebuttal argument that the use of force by Travis McMichael, when he shot and killed Ahmaud Arbery, was not reasonable.
Dunikoski told the jury that one of the “alternatives” for McMichael was “don’t start this” altercation with Arbery.
She added, “I’m going to tell you this, my husband, he always tells this to his three nephews. He says, ‘there are some rules for life. And you know what those rules are? Don’t go looking for trouble then, because you will find it, and it is not going to turn out the way you think it is.’”
The state’s rebuttal argument is ongoing.
Prosecutors just began court proceedings in the trial over the killing of Ahmaud Arbery with a rebuttal to closing arguments made by the defense, which some legal experts felt were racially insensitive and led to Arbery’s mother excusing herself from the courtroom.
Lead prosecutor Linda Dunikoski is speaking and is driving the theme that the case against the defendants is about “assumptions and driveway decisions.”
What happens next: After the state is done, Judge Timothy Walmsley will charge the jury with instructions and deliberations will begin.
Laura Hogue, an attorney for defendant Gregory McMichael, on Monday claimed in court that Ahmaud Arbery was a “recurring intruder” who repeatedly trespassed when entering an open construction site in the Satilla Shores neighborhood outside Brunswick, Georgia, where Arbery was shot and killed.
“Turning Ahmaud Arbery into a victim after the choices that he made does not reflect the reality of what brought Ahmaud Arbery to Satilla Shores in his khaki shorts with no socks to cover his long, dirty toenails,” Hogue said.
The autopsy report of Arbery noted the condition of his toenails. Arbery’s mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, left the courtroom after Hogue’s remark, saying “I gotta get out of here.”
Race has been a key focus during the trial, with Arbery being Black and the three defendants as well as 11 of the 12 jurors being White. Ben Crump, an attorney for Arbery’s father, suggested race played a role in Arbery’s death.
Cooper-Jones later told CNN’s John Berman that the defense is just trying to deflect from the fact that they “don’t have the proper evidence” to get a conviction.
“So they’re actually going to any measure to get it, to get a conviction, which is not there for them,” she said.
