The latest in the trial in the killing of Ahmaud Arbery

Ahead of Travis McMichael taking to the the stand in his own defense Thursday morning, defense attorneys raised several issues with the judge.

Here's what happened:

Kevin Gough, the attorney for William “Roddie” Bryan Jr., one of the co-defendants in the Ahmaud Arbery murder trial, told the court his client will not testify in his own defense.

Attorneys for Travis McMichael also asked the court to prevent the state from questioning Travis McMichael on a racial epithet that he allegedly used after Arbery was shot and killed. The epithet was disclosed by the case's lead GBI investigator during a preliminary hearing. 

“We don't believe it's proper to ask that question at this point. Given it's not, there is no admissible evidence of that epithet,” said Robert (Bob) Rubin, one of Travis McMichael’s attorneys.

Judge Timothy Walmsley said he would consider the cases provided by the attorneys and would provide a decision before Travis McMichael’s testimony concludes.  

In yet another attempt to keep Reverends Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson out of the courtroom, Gough filed a third motion to “prohibit any further conduct that may intimidate or influence jurors” on behalf of his client. To persuade the court to ban the pair, Gough shared a case from 1990, where Nation of Islam leader, Minister Louis Farrakhan was excluded from the public gallery of a trial. 

Walmsley denied the motion saying that he had already ruled on it and the court was not going to address the matter, noting that the two ministers were not in the courtroom at the time. 

Jackson entered the courtroom shortly before 10 a.m. ET sitting next to Wanda Cooper-Jones, Arbery’s mother, according to a pool reporter in the courtroom.  

The state’s cross-examination of Travis McMichael continued after the discussion. 

In the overflow room at the courthouse, people in the room were wearing shirts with "I support Black pastors," a pool reporter inside the courthouse said.

A large rally and march in support of the Arbery family is expected later today. 

The court is taking a quick break.

The prosecution is continuing its cross-examination of Travis McMichael today and will prosecutors will keep questioning him when court resumes.

McMichael, one of three men charged with murder in 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery's death, testified Wednesday he shot the Black jogger in self-defense, saying Arbery attacked him and grabbed his shotgun.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson was seen in the courtroom as Travis McMichael testifies.

On Monday, Jackson said he has a "moral obligation" to be in court during the trial of three White men charged with killing Ahmaud Arbery. He said he will be present for the rest of the week and beyond.

Jackson's remarks Monday came after defense attorney Kevin Gough attempted to have Jackson removed from court as the civil rights leader sat with Arbery's family. Gough insists that prominent Black pastors, such as Jackson and the Rev. Al Sharpton, who has also been at the trial, can influence the jury.

Last week, Gough asked the judge to ban Black pastors from court and later apologized for it.

Travis McMichael is back on the stand to continue cross-examination.

McMichael, one of three men charged with murder in 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery's death, testified Wednesday he shot the Black jogger in self-defense, saying Arbery attacked him and grabbed his shotgun.

Court is back in session for the second day of arguments from the defense.

Travis McMichael, one of three men charged with murder in 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery's death, testified Wednesday he shot the Black jogger in self-defense, saying Arbery attacked him and grabbed his shotgun.

McMichael is set to take the stand this morning to continue cross-examination.

Ben Crump, the attorney for Ahmaud Arbery's father, spoke to CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on Wednesday after the defense wrapped up their first day of arguments.

Crump said the self-defense argument made in testimony Wednesday by Travis McMichael – one of three men charged with murder in 25-year-old Arbery's death – is “asinine,” and that the trial has been very tough on Arbery’s parents.

"If this is was your child, how would you keep composure after you see these people lynch him, and then you see them offer this self-defense and people are actually taking this as if it's credible?” he continued. “…In the moments later, they actually killed their son and yet they're talking about self-defense. It is just asinine and an insult to our intelligence.” 

Crump said Arbery’s race led the defendants to prejudge him as a criminal.

“It is the worst nightmare of every parent, but especially parents of color who know that any Tom, Dick or Harry white man can shoot their child and claim self-defense and people start to believe it,” Crump said.

Some background: Gregory McMichael, Travis McMichael and William "Roddie" Bryan Jr. are charged with malice and felony murder in the 2020 killing of Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia.

Arbery's family has said he was out for a jog when he was shot and killed. Defense attorneys contend the McMichaels, suspecting him of burglary, were trying to conduct a lawful citizen's arrest, and that Bryan cut him off and recorded video of the pursuit and shooting. The defense also contends Travis McMichael shot Arbery in self-defense as they wrestled over the former's shotgun.

Gregory McMichael, Travis McMichael, and William "Roddie" Bryan Jr., are on trial for the 2020 killing of Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia.

Arbery was shot dead on Feb. 23, 2020, in a confrontation with the McMichaels in the neighborhood of Satilla Shores, outside the city of Brunswick in Georgia's lowcountry.

Arbery was on a jog — something he was known to do, according to those who knew him — when the McMichaels grabbed their guns and pursued Arbery. Gregory McMichael, a former police officer and investigator in the local district attorney's office, later told police Arbery and his son had struggled over his son's shotgun, and that Travis McMichael shot Arbery after the latter attacked him, according to the initial police report.

Bryan had joined the pursuit and recorded the shooting on his cellphone.

Gregory McMichael told police he and his son had pursued Arbery because they suspected he was responsible for a string of recent purported burglaries in the neighborhood. A Glynn County Police spokesperson later said there had only been one burglary — a gun stolen from an unlocked vehicle in front of the McMichaels' home — reported in more than seven weeks prior to the shooting.

Additionally, McMichael said he saw Arbery inside a home under construction. Arbery was seen entering the home in surveillance video at the site, but the owner of the home told CNN he did not see Arbery commit any crime other than "trespassing" the day of the shooting.

For months, the case lay dormant, and two prosecutors recused themselves due to conflicts of interest.

But in May, video taken by Bryan of the fatal interaction was made public, and the McMichaels were arrested days later. The three were all jointly indicted by a grand jury in June 2020.

At a preliminary hearing last June, Georgia Bureau of Investigation Assistant Special Agent in Charge Richard Dial testified Bryan told investigators he heard Travis McMichael use a racial epithet after shooting Arbery. McMichael had also used racial slurs numerous times on social media and on messaging services, Dial said.

Attorneys for the three defendants have said they acted in self-defense. But Dial testified the opposite was true.

Travis McMichael, one of three men charged with murder in 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery's death, testified Wednesday he shot the Black jogger in self-defense, saying Arbery attacked him and grabbed his shotgun.

McMichael testified about the moments that led up to the shooting, saying he believed he recognized Arbery from an encounter days earlier at a nearby home under construction.

"I want to give my side of the story," the defendant testified, saying later he came to be in a "life or death" situation" with Arbery on the day of the shooting.

Travis McMichael was the first witness called as the defense began its case at the trial.

Arbery's family has said he was out for a jog when he was shot and killed. Defense attorneys contend the McMichaels, suspecting him of burglary, were trying to conduct a lawful citizen's arrest, and that Bryan cut him off and recorded video of the pursuit and shooting. The defense also contends Travis McMichael shot Arbery in self-defense as they wrestled over the former's shotgun.

Early in the testimony, McMichael spoke about what he said was a rising level of crime, including vehicle break-ins, in the southeast Georgia neighborhood where he lived with his parents in the 18 months leading up to Arbery's killing there.

Travis McMichael testified that on the evening of Feb. 11, 2020 — nearly two weeks before Arbery's shooting — he saw someone "creeping through the shadows" in their neighborhood and got out of his vehicle to ask what was happening.

He testified the person, who he later described to police as a Black male, "pulls up his shirt" and went for his "pocket, waistband area." Travis McMichael said he assumed the person was armed, so he jumped back into his vehicle and the person ran to the house under construction.

He testified he went back to his house, where he told his father what happened. The two went back to the house under construction and called authorities. Police never saw, talked to or caught the person Travis McMichael said he saw that night, he testified.

Read more about the trial here.