Jury seated in federal hate crimes trial of 3 men convicted of murdering Ahmaud Arbery

A jury has been seated in the federal trial of three white Georgia men charged with hate crimes stemming from the murder of Ahmaud Arbery.

A jury was seated and opening statements got underway Monday in the federal hate crimes trial of three white Georgia men stemming from the murder of Ahmaud Arbery a 25-year-old Black man who was out for a jog in 2020 when he was chased and gunned down.

The 16 jurors, including four alternates, were empaneled on Monday morning following a lengthy selection process that started on Feb. 7. The jury is comprised of eight whites, three Blacks and one Hispanic. Alternates are three white members and one Pacific Islander.

Opening statements in the high profile case against 64-year-old retired police officer Gregory McMichael, his 36-year-old son Travis McMichael and their neighbor William "Roddie" Bryan, 52, commenced on Monday afternoon.

Prosecutor Bobbi Bernstein began her presentation by apologizing to the jury for having to read to them racial slurs and descriptions she said Travis McMichael used in text messages and on social media to describe Black people. Bernstein told the jury they will hear evidence that all three men used racially-charged language when discussing Black people in private.