Travis McMichael, one of the three men who fatally shot Ahmaud Arbery, an unarmed Black man jogging in February 2020, admitted in court that he was not threatened by him during the altercation that led to Arbery’s death.
McMichael’s comments came during a cross-examination by Cobb County senior assistant district attorney Linda Dunikoski.
Travis McMichael testified that he and his father pursued Arbery because he thought he might have something do with the burglaries in the Brunswick, Ga., neighborhood.
On February 23, McMichael said a neighbor told him something had happened down the road.
He said he grabbed his shotgun, got in his truck with his father and pulled up beside Arbery, who was jogging at the time, according to The Hill.
He acknowledged that he did not see a firearm and that Arbery did not threaten him.
“He has not threatened you in any way, verbally or physically?” Dunikoski asked.
“No ma’am,” McMichael replied.
“He just ran?” Dunikoski asked.
“Yes, he was just running,” McMichael responded.
McMichael said he reversed his truck to “go along with him.” When Dunikoski asked if he had ordered Arbery to stop, he said, “I wouldn’t say ordered, I was asking him,” adding that he was trying to keep “the situation calm.”
“All he’s done is run away from you,” Dunikoski said at one point, according to CBS News. “And you pulled out a shotgun and pointed it at him.”
McMichael, 35, his father, Gregory McMichael, and their neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan are on trial for murder and other counts for the death of Arbery. They have all pleaded not guilty and claim they were acting in self-defense.
The three defendants have separately been charged by the Justice Department with federal hate crimes.
