Defense Attorneys Deny Racial Motive In Ahmaud Arbery Slaying

Attorneys for a white father and son charged with killing Ahmaud Arbery say their clients weren’t motivated by race when they armed themselves, chased after the young Black man and shot him in the street after a confrontation, according to interviews published Friday.

Gregory and Travis McMichael have been jailed since they were arrested on murder charges in May, more than two months after 25-year-old Arbery was fatally shot while running in their neighborhood outside the port city of Brunswick.

Cellphone video of Travis McMichael shooting Arbery three times at close range with a shotgun further fueled a national outcry over racial injustice. Gregory McMichael told police after the shooting that he and his son pursued Arbery because they suspected him of being a burglar.