Earlier this week, an attorney for one of the three white men charged with the murder of Black man Ahmaud Arbery in February 2020 complained about civil rights leaders attending their trial.
While attorney Kevin Gough offered “apologies” Friday for his comments, he said that he will “follow up” with a specific motion Monday.
Rev. Al Sharpton is one of the pastors and civil rights leaders who have traveled to Brunswick, Ga., to support Arbery’s family as the trial proceeds, said CNN.
He led a prayer vigil Wednesday outside the Glynn County Courthouse, asking for a just verdict in the case. Sharpton also called Arbery’s death “a lynching in the 21st century.”
“If we're going to start a precedent, starting yesterday, where we're going to bring high-profile members of the African American community into the courtroom to sit with the family during the trial in the presence of the jury, I believe that's intimidating and it's an attempt to pressure – could be consciously or unconsciously – an attempt to pressure or influence the jury,” said Gough of his opposition to their attendance.
Already, Judge Timothy Walmsley said he isn’t interested in barring people from the courtroom unless they cause a disturbance.
Gough represents William “Roddie” Bryan Jr., who allegedly chased Arbery in vehicles along with Gregory McMichael and his son Travis McMichael before they killed the 25-year-old jogger. Defense attorneys for the men claim their clients suspected Arbery of burglary and were trying to conduct a lawful citizen’s arrest.
Arbery’s death, along with the murder of Black man George Floyd in Minneapolis at the hands white former police officer Derek Chauvin, inspired protests last year calling for an end to violence and injustice against Black Americans.
Before Gough complained about civil rights leaders attending the trial, he also had input on the long and complicated jury selection process.
He said that older white men from the South without four-year college degrees seemed to be underrepresented in the pool of potential jurors.
Walmsley last week said the it was the defense that appeared to be discriminatory in selecting the jurors, though he allowed the case to go forward. There is only one Black person on the 12-person panel.
“We don't want any more Black pastors coming in here or other Jesse Jackson, whoever was in here earlier this week, sitting with the victim's family trying to influence a jury in this case,” Gough said Thursday.
In response to Gough’s new complaints, Walmsley said he would not “blanketly exclude members of the public from this courtroom.”
“My attendance yesterday and in the days to come is not disruptive in any way and was at the invitation of the family of Ahmaud Arbery who have stated that publicly,” Sharpton said in a prepared statement Thursday.
He called Gough’s comments “arrogant insensitivity.”
“I don't think Gough is really up to do the right thing. So he's, he's willing to eliminate anything that's right. So it doesn't surprise me at all,” said Arbery’s mother.
Prominent Black pastor and social activist the Rev. William J. Barber II, was in Brunswick Thursday. A member of his congregation attended the trial with Arbery’s family.
“This is ultimately about the truth, and to suggest that we are the intimidating ones when this case is about White men who were riding around with guns ... shooting an unarmed Black man ... it just shows how disjointed this case is,” Barber said. “Truth is intimidating for people who want to run a lie.”
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