Travis McMichael began testifying in his own defense on
Wednesday, taking the stand even though it opened him up to
questioning by prosecutors who have said they might ask him
about evidence he had "racial animus" against Black people.
Travis McMichael, 35, his father, Greg McMichael, 65, and their
neighbor William "Roddie" Bryan, 52, all white men, are charged
with murder, along with other crimes, in the Feb. 23 slaying of
Arbery in their mostly white neighborhood just outside coastal
Brunswick.
The McMichaels told police that they chased Arbery in a pickup
truck because they thought he looked like a burglar, and Bryan
joined the chase after they went by his driveway.
Defense lawyers have said the men were trying to stop Arbery
under a now-repealed Georgia citizen's arrest law, and the
younger McMichael shot him in self defense. The McMichaels and
Bryan face life in prison if convicted of murder.
Cellphone video of the shooting taken by Bryan was widely seen
on the internet about two months after Arbery's death and caused
a national uproar before charges were ultimately brought.
Speaking on the verge of tears as he took the stand on
Wednesday, Travis McMichael said Arbery tried to take his
weapon.
"I shot him. He had my gun," Travis McMichael said. "It was a
life or death situation."
In a court hearing in June 2020, a special agent with the
Georgia Brueau of Investigation (GBI) said that co-defendant
Bryan said in an interview that Travis McMichael uttered a
racial slur as Arbery lay dying.
On Wednesday, Travis McMichael's attorney Jason Sheffield asked
the court to prevent prosecutors from asking about the reported
slur unless they could give a "good faith" reason why it was
relevant. Judge Timothy Walmsley said he would consider the
matter first thing on Thursday, before Travis McMichael is
slated for a second day of testimony.
(Reporting by Rich McKay in Atlanta and Jonathan Allen in New
York; Editing by Donna Bryson and Richard Pullin)
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