Georgia judge denies defense motion for mistrial in Ahmaud Arbery case
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[November 20, 2021]
By Rich McKay
(Reuters) - A Georgia judge denied a motion
for a mistrial on Friday in the Ahmaud Arbery murder case from a defense
lawyer who claimed that Black pastors outside the courthouse were a
"woke left mob" that influenced the jury in the trial of three white
men.
More than 200 pastors gathered on Thursday outside the Glynn County
courthouse in coastal Brunswick, Georgia. Organizers said it was a
response to defense attorney Kevin Gough's previous comments that he
"didn't want any more Black pastors" in the courtroom.
Several nationally known Black clergy and civil rights leaders including
Rev. Al Sharpton, Rev. Jesse Jackson and Martin Luther King III have sat
with Arbery's family in the courtroom at various times.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2021/Nov/20/images/ads/current/charrons_bch041713.png)
Gough's client, William "Roddie" Bryan, 52, along with Greg McMichael,
65, a former policeman, and his son Travis McMichael, 35, are charged
with the 25-year-old Black man's murder. Prosecutors say they chased and
shot Arbery to death as he took a Sunday afternoon jog on Feb. 23, 2020.
The three men have all pleaded not guilty and have said they were trying
to make a citizen's arrest of a man they thought was a burglar. They
face life in prison if convicted by the jury of 11 white people and one
Black man.
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![](../images/112021pics/news_b35.jpg)
Judge Timothy Walmsley gestures during the trial of William "Roddie"
Bryan, Travis McMichael and Gregory McMichael, charged with the
February 2020 death of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery, at Glynn County
Superior Court in Brunswick, Georgia, U.S. November 19, 2021.
REUTERS/Octavio Jones/Pool
![](../images/ads/current/centraldirect_lda_SPONSOR_2021.png)
Gough showed the court photographs of the large
gathering on Thursday and said it was an unfair influence or perhaps
intimidated the jury. "This is a trial that's been infected by mob
violence of a woke left mob," he said.
"This is what a public lynching looks like in the 21st century,"
Gough said. "There is pressure being exerted on the jury."
Prosecutor Linda Dunikoski countered that Gough, a "brilliant" and
"calculating" lawyer, made the courtroom comment about Black pastors
with the intention of provoking the gathering.
Closing arguments in the case are expected to begin Monday.
(Reporting by Rich McKay in Atlanta; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
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