Glynn County Detention Center via AP
- The attorneys for Travis and Gregory McMichael—involved in the fatal shooting of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery—filed a motion to prohibit the word “victim” to be used in the courtroom during their clients’ trial, first reported by CNN and TMZ citing court documents.
- Arbery, an unarmed Black man, was jogging in his Georgia neighborhood in late February when he was gunned down by the McMichaels.
- Their defense team is also calling to prohibit Black Lives Matter-associated attire in the courtroom and requesting access to Arbery’s criminal, school, employment, and mental health records, according to court documents viewed by Insider.
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The defense team for the two white men charged in the fatal shooting of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery – Travis and Gregory McMichael – filed multiple motions last month to ask for the word “victim” not to be used in court and to not allow spectators to wear BLM related attire during their trial.
The McMichaels – whose attorneys asked that their jail calls not be utilized as evidence during their trial– were arrested and charged with felony murder and aggravated assault in May for the shooting of Arbery, an unarmed Black man, while he was out for a run in his Georgia neighborhood on February 23. The duo said they mistook Arbery for being involved in neighborhood break-ins, Insider previously reported. Both Travis and Gregory pleaded not guilty and were denied bond.
The attorneys for the McMichaels are calling to ban the usage of the word “victim” in regards to Arbery during court proceedings, according to a motion filed to the Superior Court of Glynn County that was first reported by TMZ and CNN.
“Use of terms such as ‘victim’ allows the focus to shift to the accused rather than remain on the proof of every element of the crimes charged,” the motion reads.
In addition, the attorneys call on the court to prohibit spectators from sporting any clothing or facemasks with messages like “Black Lives Matter,” “I Can’t Breathe,” “I Run with Maud” and “Justice for Ahmaud” inside of the courtroom, according to the documents. The attorneys also request that one photo of Arbery is used in the trial and that an individual unrelated to Arbery ID’s him in the picture.
"Travis and Greg McMichael move this Court to limit the number of 'in life' photographs to one, limit the content of any such photograph to the decedent alone, and to require nonrelated Witness to identify the person depicted in the one photograph," the motion read.
The attorneys also requested Arbery's school, employment, mental health, and law enforcement records, according to the documents.
Read more:
The full story of how the Ahmaud Arbery 'lynching' became a national flashpoint for justice