The man who fatally shot Ahmaud Arbery last year took the stand at his own murder trial on Wednesday afternoon, the ninth day of the trial, and a day after the prosecution rested its case.
“I wanted to get my side of the story. I wanted to explain what happened and say what happened from the way I see it,” Travis McMichael, 35, told the court, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“McMichael told defense attorneys he moved into the neighborhood in 2018 and grew concerned about car break-ins, thefts and ‘suspicious persons,'” reports USA Today of the trial. “McMichael said he would often discuss crime with neighbors, some of whom began installing surveillance cameras on their houses, and his family, including father Greg McMichael, who is also facing murder charges in Arbery’s death.”
Gregory McMichael, 67, the father of Travis McMichael, told police at the time of the shooting that he and his son pursued a man he believed was a burglary suspect. The elder McMichael also told police that the two men followed Arbery after grabbing weapons and that neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan, 52, joined in the pursuit at some later point.
Arbery was fatally shot after an encounter with Gregory McMichael and Travis McMichael. Bryan was in a car behind Arbery shortly before his death and is the person who captured the video of the fatal altercation. The footage later went viral on social media when it was leaked to a radio station by an attorney who had consulted with one of the suspects in an informal capacity.
The attorney, Alan Tucker, said he was seeking to dispel rumors about the altercation. “It wasn’t two men with a Confederate flag in the back of a truck going down the road and shooting a jogger in the back,” he said.
“It got the truth out there as to what you could see,” added Tucker. “My purpose was not to exonerate them or convict them.”
The three men have been charged with murder, aggravated assault, and false imprisonment and face up to life in prison if convicted.
This is a developing story; refresh the page for updates.