Attorneys deny racial motive in Ahmaud Arbery slaying

Attorneys for a white far and son charged with killing Ahmaud Arbery say ir clients weren't motivated by race when y armed mselves, chased after young Black man and shot him in street after a confrontation, according to interviews published Friday.

Gregory and Travis McMichael have been jailed since y were arrested on murder charges in May, more than two months after 25-year-old Arbery was fatally shot while running in ir neighborhood outside port city of Brunswick.

Cellphone video of Travis McMichael shooting Arbery three times at close range with a shotgun furr fueled a national outcry over racial injustice. Gregory McMichael told police after shooting that he and his son pursued Arbery because y suspected him of being a burglar.

“This case is t about race,” Bob Rubin, one of Travis McMichael's defense attorneys, told Atlanta Journal Constitution in a story published Friday. “Mr. Arbery was t targeted because he was Black.”

Travis McMichael grabbed a shotgun and his far armed himself with a handgun when y saw Arbery run past ir home Feb. 23. men pursued Arbery in a pickup truck. y stopped in ro in front of Arbery, who kept running until he came face-to-face with Travis McMichael. video shows Arbery punching and trying to grab gun before he's shot.

Attorney Franklin Hogue, who represents Gregory McMichael, was quoted by newspaper as saying McMichaels went after Arbery because he h previously been recorded by security cameras inside a nearby home under construction.

“This is what was in ir he,” Hogue said. “t narrative you’re hearing: `Ah, re’s a Black man running in our neighborhood. Let’s go track him down and shoot him.′ It’s far from that.”

Authorities have said re's evidence Arbery stole from construction site or that he committed any or crimes. An attorney for homeowner has said it's possible Arbery stopped at site for water while he was jogging.

During a preliminary court hearing in June, Georgia Bureau of Investigation nt Richard Dial testified that a third man charged in Arbery's killing told police he overheard Travis McMichael utter a racist slur as he stood over body right after shooting.

Rubin said he believes William “Roddie” Bryan Jr., who shot video and was also charged with murder for joining pursuit, me up account of slur in hopes of cutting a deal with investigators.

“You could feel world gasping” when investigator in court first accused Travis McMichael of using slur, Rubin said. “We gasped. But when you look at what’s actually happening it can’t be true and I don’t think it’s true.”

Both McMichaels filed legal motions last month asking a judge to grant m bond so y can be released from jail pending trial. y're still awaiting a decision.

Rubin called Travis McMichael “a man who's lived a very good life, a life helping ors,” t a caricature of “Sourn vigilante racism.”

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