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Court adjourns following closing arguments in death of Ahmaud Arbery trial, jury deliberation likely to begin Tuesday

Travis McMichael, his father Gregory McMichael and William "Roddie" Bryan, who recorded the video, are all charged with murder in Arbery's death.

BRUNSWICK, Ga. — **WARNING: Videos contained in this article may be disturbing to some.

Closing arguments are set to begin Monday in the trial in the death of Ahmaud Arbery, five weeks after the first pool of jurors reported for selection in the trial. 

The defense rested Thursday, one day after defendant Travis McMichael took the stand in his own defense. On Friday, a charge conference was held for the judge and both parties' attorneys to determine the content of the judge's instructions for the jury after closing arguments are presented.

Arbery was shot and killed on Feb. 23, 2020. Cellphone video leaked to the public shows two armed white men in a truck approaching the 25-year-old Black man as he runs down the road. One of the men, later identified as Travis McMichael, and Arbery struggle over McMichael's shotgun before Arbery is shot and collapses.

Travis McMichael, his father Gregory McMichael and William "Roddie" Bryan, who recorded the video, are all charged with murder in Arbery's death.

WATCH prosecutor Linda Duniskoski's closing statement | 'They made a decision to attack ... Black man running down the street'

 

LIVE UPDATES:

5:06 p.m.: Court adjourns for the day. The court will reconvene Tuesday morning at 8:30 a.m. The State will have the option to give a rebuttal to the defense's closing arguments before jury deliberations begin.

4:30 p.m.: Kevin Gough suggests "divine providence" lead William Bryan to capture encounter between Arbery and the McMichaels on camera. 

"Somebody is guiding Mr. Bryan, whether it's a conscience thought process or not, something is guiding Mr. Bryan down this street to document what’s going on," he said.

3:08 p.m.: Gough begins his closing arguements after failed motion for a mistrial.

Gough says during closing arguments: "Why didn't Mr. Arbery ask for help. Why didn't he say 'Hey call 911?" Gough suggests to jury that Arbery "didn't want help."

2:52 p.m.: Defense attorney Kevin Gough files his seventh motion for a mistrial based on people demonstrating outside the courthouse today. Groups held a rally including the Lion of Judah Armed Forces, who were carrying rifles. Gough speaks about the rifles, saying "This is no longer a figurative mob. This is a literal mob." The judge again denies the motion.

2:47 p.m.: Laura Hogue asks the judge to strike "sleepy juror 12" for a second time. Hogue says she saw her sleeping again during her closing statements. Rubin and Sheffield join the motion. Judge denies it again, saying he'll continue to keep an eye on sleepy juror. Gough ask if she needs medical attention.

2:36 p.m.: "Greg McMichael is not a murderer," Hogue says, ending her closing arguments.

2:35 p.m.: Hogue says to jurors once they decide a verdict, they can't take it back, doesn't want them to regret their decision.

2:22 p.m.: Pool reporter says Arbery's mother "bolts from the courtroom almost tripping over the feet of others saying 'I gotta get out of here'" when Hogue says day of shooting, Arbery was wearing khaki shorts and no socks to "cover his long, dirty toenails."

2:16 p.m.: Note from pool reporter: "Long exhale and sighs from the back row/ Arbery family when Laura Hogue says it’s inexplicable why Ahmaud took that sharp left turn in front of the truck."

2:13 p.m.: "No one but Ahmaud Arbery" made the decision not to stop when Travis McMichael pulled up, or stay when he heard cops were on the way, Hogue says.

2:07 p.m.: Earlier outside the courthouse, during the break, defense attorney Franklin Hogue approaches the Lion of Judah Armed Forces, saying "Are y'all here to protect the city or to protect defense lawyers?" Demonstrators say they're defending people trying to exercise their First Amendment rights. "When you ask who we're here to defend, we are here to defend our lives."

1:59 p.m.: Hogue starts off by saying her father worked close to 50 years as an insurance salesman not because he wanted to, but because he wanted his kids to grow up in a safe neighborhood. Hogue says Gregory McMichael was trying to do same for his family and shouldn't have to fear intruders.

1:40 p.m.: Back from lunch. Defense attorney Laura Hogue starts closing arguments for defendant Gregory McMichael.

12:34 p.m.: Sheffield ends closing arguments by asking jurors if they will do for Travis what he tried to do protecting the community, "Will you reach out your hand to Travis and pull him out of those waters?"

12:25 p.m.: Sheffield: Travis wishes that he would’ve done anything but what he did the day of the shooting, but that doesn’t mean what he did wasn’t allowed by the law, says the argument that we wouldn’t be here “but for” Travis doing what he did is a flawed argument by prosecutors.

12:23 p.m.: Sheffield says to jurors, don't let the state fool you, you don't have to announce "you're under arrest" to conduct a citizen's arrest.

12:20 p.m.: Sheffield: “If this was a case about wanting to murder a Black jogger," Travis McMichael wouldn’t have acted how he acted after the shooting, says witness defense called said he was discombobulated, "and she was right."

12:15 p.m.: Court is in recess.

12:12 p.m.: Sheffield says Travis McMichael was afraid Arbery was going to "beat him with his fists," hurt and maybe even kill him, "he's scared." Sheffield says McMichael raised his gun to try to deescalate situation, "defend, protect" himself and his father. "He did this because he was afraid." 

12:04 p.m.: When Sheffield described Arbery "in a full sprint" when a neighbor called police on Feb. 23, his mother Wanda Cooper-Jones is overheard saying "he's just running."

12 p.m.: Note from pool reporter on the sleepy juror whom the defense wanted to strike last week: "(She is) looking tired but willing herself to stay alert. She’s succeeding."

11:54 a.m.: Sheffield says Travis McMichael saw everything other than hand on stuff stolen and had probable cause to think Arbery stole items from English's home based on his encounter with Arbery on Feb. 11, hearing about crimes in the neighborhood and seeing Arbery on English's security camera.

11:43 a.m.: Sheffield: "There is no evidence that Ahmaud Arbery jogged for exercise" in Satilla Shores.

11:30 a.m.: The Lion of Judah Armed Forces and the New Black Panther Party are both holding a rally calling for justice for Ahmaud Arbery outside the courtroom where closing arguments are ongoing.

11:27 a.m.: Sheffield says there's a lot of crime happening in Satilla Shores, but crime at the home under construction is "real problem ... much different." Sheffield said there was a "repeat offender coming at a time when he had absolutely no lawful reason" for being there.

11:16 a.m.: "Duty and responsibility and following the law will always be intertwined with heartache and tragedy," Sheffield tells jurors, beginning his closing argument. 

11:13 a.m.: "I don't see any basis for the state to object," Sheffield says. Prosecutors say they will object to each image if need be. Judge says he understands the state's argument and will see how things go and tells defense  they can't use pictures on slides as evidence.

11:07 a.m.: Sheffield says the slides are "demonstrative things," says these are notes he took in front of jury during Travis' testimony. Dunikoski and Sheffield get into argument about state's objection. "This isn't appropriate to get into my closing arguments," Sheffield said.

11:04 a.m.: After a break, prosecutor says she walked into courtroom and saw defense attorney Jason Sheffield flipping through his slides for closing arguments. Dunikoski says she has not seen several photos on the slides that were never tendered into evidence and objects.

10:45 a.m.: Dunikoski wraps closing arguments by saying, "Ladies and gentlemen, use your common sense."

10:24 a.m.: "What did Arbery do? He ran away from them for five minutes."- Dunikoski. Dunikoski says Arbery had no weapons, wasn't threatening defendants, had no way to call for help because he didn't have his cellphone.

9:58 a.m.: Dunikoski claims argument that Travis McMichael had probable cause to think Arbery was the one who stole stuff from Larry English's boat was made up argument for trial. Dunikoski says Travis never told police this in his statement after the shooting  

9:42 a.m.: State: This is a case about assumptions and driveway decisions. "They made the decision to attack Ahmaud Arbery because he was a Black man running down the street."

9:40 a.m.: The prosecutors begin their closing arguments. They are expected to last 30 to 40 minutes.

9:20 a.m.: After weeks of talking about it, attorney for William Roddie Bryan, Kevin Gough, files motion to sever, meaning he's asking Bryan get a separate trial  

8:30 a.m.: First Coast News anchor Keitha Nelson and executive producer Anne Schindler will discuss what they expect to hear during today's closing arguments and all nine charges facing each of the three defendants.

RELATED: Defense lawyer makes sixth consecutive motion for mistrial in case of 3 men accused of killing Ahmaud Arbery

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