Travis McMichael, the man who killed Ahmaud Arbery, stumbled under cross-examination on Thursday after being forced to admit that Arbery did not speak, show a weapon or threaten him in any way before he raised his shotgun and pointed it at the 25-year-old Black man and shot him.
Travis McMichael was among only seven total defense witnesses called to the witness stand before attorneys for all three of the white defendants rested Thursday afternoon. Superior Court Judge Timothy Walmsley scheduled closing arguments in the trial for Monday.
On his second day of testimony, McMichael said he was “under the impression” that Arbery could be a threat because he was running straight at him and he had seen Arbery trying to get into the truck of a neighbor who had joined in a pursuit of Arbery in their Georgia neighborhood.
But the prosecutor was quick to set the record straight: “All he’s done is run away from you,” prosecutor Linda Dunikoski said. “And you pulled out a shotgun and pointed it at him.”
Dunikoski then asked how many times he had previously pulled up behind strangers in the neighborhood to ask them what they were doing there, McMichael said never.
“You know that no one has to talk to anyone they don’t want to talk to, right?” Dunikoski said.
The prosecutor also pressed McMichael on why he didn’t include some details of his testimony Wednesday in his written statement to police, namely the part about his telling Arbery police were on the way.
McMichael said he was “under stress, nervous, scared” at the time of his police interview and “probably being choppy.”
Watch the video below:
Prosecutor: Did Ahmaud Arbery reach into his pockets?
Travis McMichael: No.
Prosecutor: Did he yell?
TM: No.
Prosecutor: Threaten you?
TM: No.
Prosecutor: Brandish weapons?
TM: No.
Prosecutor: Gun?
TM: No.
Prosecutor: Knife?
TM: No.
Prosecutor: He just ran?
TM: Yes. pic.twitter.com/93Kb734XCJ
— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) November 18, 2021
