在他的州审判中艾哈迈德·阿尔贝里特拉维斯·麦克迈克尔作证说他不是种族主义者。但在他的联邦仇恨犯罪案件中，检察官向陪审团提交了大量陈述、短信和社交媒体帖子，指控种族主义是他、他的父亲和他们的邻居追捕并杀害这名25岁黑人的潜在动机。
美国联邦调查局(FBI)分析师艾米·沃恩(Amy Vaughn)周三作证说，她发现了大量电子邮件，主要来自特拉维斯·麦克迈克尔(Travis McMichael)，据称他经常使用种族诽谤来描述黑人，并倡导对他们的暴力。
在一个例子中，沃恩作证说，36岁的麦克迈克尔在社交媒体上发布了他对两个白人和两个黑人之间对抗的新闻报道的反应，据称他说黑人需要被当作例子。
“‘如果这发生在我的妻子或女儿身上，他们会收集大脑物质，’”沃恩在佐治亚州布伦瑞克的美国地方法院大声读出了麦克迈克尔所谓的信息。
麦克迈克尔，他64岁的父亲，前佐治亚州警官格雷戈里·麦克迈克尔;和他们的邻居，52岁的威廉·罗迪·布莱恩，各被控一项干涉阿伯里公民权利和企图绑架的罪名。麦克迈克尔夫妇还被指控使用、携带和挥舞与暴力犯罪有关的枪支，特拉维斯·麦克迈克尔还面临与暴力犯罪有关的使用枪支的指控。
如果罪名成立，这些人可能被判终身监禁。这三个人都已经在服无期徒刑，麦克迈克尔一家没有假释的可能州陪审团判他们有罪去年谋杀了阿伯里。
特拉维斯·麦克迈克尔(Travis McMichael)的童年好友德里克·托马斯(Derek Thomas)周三作证称，特拉维斯·麦克迈克尔(Travis McMichael)对他所说的一段有趣视频的暴力种族主义回应令他感到震惊，这段视频是一名黑人对他的白人朋友进行恶作剧。
托马斯说，特拉维斯·麦克迈克尔的短信回复让他很不安，所以他打电话给他当面质问。当被要求在法庭上阅读特拉维斯·麦克迈克尔的文本时，托马斯拒绝了，而是说出了他用来描述黑人的种族诽谤。
沃恩说，她的调查发现了布莱恩的种族主义在线帖子和格雷戈里·麦克迈克尔用来描述黑人的偏执评论。
虽然联邦调查局由于加密而无法进入格雷戈里·麦克迈克尔的手机，但沃恩作证说，调查人员确实发现了她在法庭上阅读的脸书的帖子，其中一条据说是他写道，“手中的枪比整个警察的电话都有价值。”
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特拉维斯·麦克迈克尔(左)在t..
沃恩说，联邦调查局还发现了布莱恩的许多在线帖子，据称他在这些帖子中表达了对他女儿与一名黑人男子发展关系的不满。在沃恩在法庭上宣读的一篇帖子中，布莱恩据称写道，“这是我唯一说过我永远不会接受的事情”，并补充道，“如果她对自己都不在乎，我们为什么要在乎?”
2020年2月23日，Arbery在不伦瑞克附近的Satilla shores社区进行了一次周日下午的慢跑，当时McMichaels夫妇认为他正在盗窃他们社区一栋正在建设中的房屋，他们武装自己，开着他们的皮卡追赶他。布赖恩加入了五分钟的追逐，用他的卡车挡住了阿贝里的路。他用手机录下了特拉维斯·麦克迈克尔在一场打斗中用猎枪打死了阿贝里的视频。
虽然麦克迈克尔夫妇声称他们追捕阿贝里不是因为他是黑人，而是因为他非法侵入了他们邻居的房子，但检察官周三向陪审团展示了特拉维斯·麦克迈克尔在打猎时非法侵入的视频。在其中一个视频中，特拉维斯·麦克迈克尔微笑着站在“禁止擅入”的标志旁。
检察官还向陪审团展示了格雷戈里·麦克迈克尔(Gregory McMichael)在网上发表的一篇帖子，据称他写道，“这是私有财产，然后是私有财产，你知道吗?”
在备受瞩目的审判中，美国助理检察官博比·伯恩斯坦(Bobbi Bernstein)在开庭陈述中告诉陪审团，她还将提出证据，证明布莱恩告诉调查人员，在特拉维斯·麦克迈克尔(Travis McMichael)开枪打死阿伯里后，他据称听到他在受害者躺在人行道上奄奄一息时对他大喊种族主义绰号。
伯恩斯坦告诉专家组，虽然使用种族诽谤并不违法，但“这些诽谤可以为你提供证据，说明被告为什么要这样做。”
Racist messages, vile online posts highlighted in hate crimes trial of Ahmaud Arbery's killers
In his state trial for the murder ofAhmaud Arbery, Travis McMichael testified he is not a racist. But prosecutors in his federal hate crimes case have presented the jury with numerous statements, text messages and social media posts to allege racism was the underlying motive for why he, his father and their neighbor chased down and killed the 25-year-old Black man.
FBI analyst Amy Vaughn testified on Wednesday that she found a digital onslaught of messages, mostly from Travis McMichael, in which he allegedly routinely used racial slurs to describe Black people and advocated violence against them.
In one instance, Vaughn testified that the 36-year-old McMichael posted on social media his reaction to a news report on a confrontation between two white people and two Black people, allegedly saying Black people needed to be made examples of.
"'They'd be scraping up brain matter if this happened to my wife or daughter,'" Vaughn read out loud from McMichael's alleged message in U.S. District Court in Brunswick, Georgia.
McMichael, his 64-year-old father, Gregory McMichael, a former Georgia police officer; and their neighbor William "Roddie" Bryan, 52, have each been charged with one count of interference of Arbery's civil rights and attempted kidnapping. The McMichaels are also charged with using, carrying and brandishing a firearm in relation to a crime of violence and Travis McMichael faces an additional count of using a firearm in relation to a violent crime.
If convicted, the men could be sentenced to life in prison. All three are already serving life sentences, the McMichaels without the possibility of parole, after astate jury convicted themlast year of murdering Arbery.
Derek Thomas, Travis McMichael's childhood friend, testified on Wednesday that he wasshocked by a violent, racist response Travis McMichael allegedly gave to what he said was supposed to be a funny videoof a Black man playing a prank on his white friend.
Thomas said he was so disturbed by Travis McMichael's texted response that he called him to confront him about it. When asked to read Travis McMichael's text in court, Thomas declined and instead spelled out the racial slur he used to describe Black people.
Vaughn said her investigation led to the discovery of racist online posts by Bryan and bigoted comments Gregory McMichael used to describe Black people.
While the FBI was unable to get access to Gregory McMichael's phone because of its encryption, Vaughn testified that investigators did find posts he made on Facebook that she read in court, including one in which he allegedly wrote, "The gun in the hand is worth more than the entire police force on the phone."
Vaughn said the FBI also uncovered numerous online posts from Bryan in which he allegedly express his resentment over a relationship his daughter developed with a Black man.In one post Vaughn read in court, Bryan allegedly wrote, "This is the only thing I said I would never accept"and added, "If she doesn’t give a f--- about herself, why should we?"
Arbery was out for a Sunday afternoon jog on Feb. 23, 2020, in the Satilla shores neighborhood near Brunswick, when the McMichaels assumed he was a burglarizing a home under construction in their neighborhood, armed themselves and chased him in their pickup truck. Bryan joined the five-minute pursuit, blocking Arbery's path with his truck. He recorded cellphone video of Travis McMichael fatally shooting Arbery with a shotgun during a struggle.
While the McMichaels claimed they chased Arberynot because he was Black, but becausehe was trespassingat their neighbor’s house, prosecutors on Wednesday showed the jury videos ofTravis McMichael trespassing while on a hunting trip. In one of the videos, Travis McMichael is seen smiling while standing next to "No Trespassing" signs.
Prosecutors also showed the jury an online post in which Gregory McMichael allegedly wrote, "There’s private property and then there’s private property, you know?"
In her opening statement in the high-profile trial, Assistant U.S. Attorney Bobbi Bernstein told the jury she will also present evidence that Bryan told investigators that after Travis McMichael shot Arbery he allegedly heard him yell a racist epithet at the victim as he lay dying on the pavement.
Bernstein told the panel that while it is not illegal to use racial slurs, "these slurs can provide you with evidence as to why a defendant did what he did."
