Ahmaud Arbery Case: Photo Timeline From To Shooting To The Trial

BRUNSWICK, GA — Three white men are on trial in Brunswick, Georgia, for chasing down and killing Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man, as he jogged through a neighborhood just outside of Brunswick on Feb. 23, 2020.

Gregory Michael, son Travis McMichael and neighbor William "Roddie" Bryan Jr. don't dispute they shot Arbery but claim they shot him in self-defense while making a citizen's arrest.

The closely watched trial is heavy with the same civil rights overtones as two other trials: the trial earlier this year of Derek Chauvin, the white Minneapolis police officer convicted of murdering George Floyd, a Black man; and the Kyle Rittenhouse murder trial underway now in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Rittenhouse is accused to shooting two people to death and injuring another in a racial justice protest in Kenosha last year after a white police officer was cleared of shooting and partially paralyzing a Black man.

• The Latest: 3 On Trial For Killing Ahmaud Arbery

Here is a pictorial timeline on how this case unfolded:

February 2020

Arbery went out for a run before the defendants confronted him. Gregory McMichael told police Arbery and his son struggled for his son's shotgun before the fatal shot was fired, according to prosecutors, who said three shots were fired. No arrests were immediately made

May 2020

A video surfaces of the confrontation recorded by Bryan, the McMichaels' neighbor. It shows Arbery jogging in the street, encountering the pickup truck in which the McMichaels' were riding, and the physical confrontation that preceded the gunshots. The McMichaels were later arrested — about three months after the fatal shooting occurred.

June 2020

The defendants pleaded not guilty to malice and felony murder charges, and all three remained in jail.

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July 2020

The defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges filed against them. Prosecutors cited a flight risk, and Bryan was denied bond.

November 2020

Bond was denied for Gregory and Travis McMichaels. Prosecutors said Gregory McMichaels attempted to "obstruct the investigation" on the night of the shooting.

Nov. 3, 2021

A jury of 12 people — 11 white and one Black — was selected following 2½ days of jury selection in preparation for the trial.

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Nov. 17, 2021

On the ninth day of the trial, Gregory McMichael told the jury that Arbery forced him to make a split-second “life-or-death” decision after attacking him and grabbing his shotgun. It was the first time any of the three men charged with murder in Arbery’s death spoke publicly about the killing.

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