Lawyer for Man Accused of Killing Ahmaud Arbery Draws Scrutiny
The New York Times
Kevin Gough argued that the Rev. Al Sharpton’s presence in court was intimidating to the jury. “We don’t want any more Black pastors coming in here,” he said.
ATLANTA — When Kevin Gough, a lawyer for one of the three men accused of murdering Ahmaud Arbery, said that the presence of the Rev. Al Sharpton in the courtroom this week had been “intimidating” to jurors — and then added, “We don’t want any more Black pastors coming in here” — Mr. Sharpton, like many others, seemed equally offended and astonished.
“I’ve been through a lot of trials over the decades,” Mr. Sharpton, the 67-year-old civil rights veteran and TV personality, said in an interview with TMZ. “I’ve never had a lawyer ask that I not be able to come to court.”
Mr. Gough’s call on Thursday for Judge Timothy R. Walmsley to ban what Mr. Gough called “high-profile members of the African American community” from the Brunswick, Ga., courtroom has been widely condemned.
