{"id":30501,"date":"2021-11-13T09:18:01","date_gmt":"2021-11-13T14:18:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thegeorgiasun.com\/?p=30501"},"modified":"2021-11-13T09:18:05","modified_gmt":"2021-11-13T14:18:05","slug":"did-al-sharptons-presence-at-the-ahmaud-arbery-trial-intimidate-jurors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thegeorgiasun.com\/?p=30501","title":{"rendered":"Did Al Sharpton’s presence at the Ahmaud Arbery trial intimidate jurors?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

After Rev. Al Sharpton sat next to Ahmaud Arbery\u2019s family in a Glynn County courtroom Wednesday, a defense attorney representing one of the three white men on trial for Arbery\u2019s killing raised questions about prominent Black pastors showing up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The judge rejected defense attorney Kevin Gough\u2019s request to limit how many nationally recognized Black pastors can sit in the gallery during the high-profile case where race is a central theme in the coastal community. The predominantly Black city of Brunswick is surrounded by a majority white county.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thursday marked the fifth day of testimony in a trial where a jury of 11 whites and one black person<\/a> will try to render a verdict in the shooting death of Arbery, who was chased through a Brunswick-area neighborhood by Greg and Travis McMichael and neighbor William \u201cRoddie\u201d Bryan on Feb. 23, 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The McMichaels and Bryan are white. Arbery was Black.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bryan\u2019s attorney on Thursday said he\u2019s worried that the presence of more well-known Black pastors in the courtroom to support the Arberys will intimidate the jurors<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gough said he didn\u2019t realize Sharpton was in the gallery until after Wednesday\u2019s session ended. While Sharpton is welcome to continue sitting with the family, other Black pastors who might attend for politically motivated reasons should not be permitted to attend, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cObviously, there\u2019s only so many pastors they can have and the fact that their pastor is Al Sharpton right now that\u2019s fine,\u201d Gough said. \u201cBut that\u2019s it. We don\u2019t want any more Black pastors coming in here or Jesse Jackson, whoever it was, he was in here earlier this week, sitting with the victim\u2019s family trying to influence the jury in this case.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chatham County Superior Court Judge Timothy Walmsley dismissed the request noting that Sharpton\u2019s visit didn\u2019t cause any disruptions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Thursday, the Rev. William Barber, who leads the national Poor People\u2019s Campaign, was outside the Brunswick courtroom to bring attention to the underlying issues of a type of violence that\u2019s dangerous to America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe understand that intersection of racial bias, like the lynching of Arbery and the police violence leads to all these unnecessary deaths,\u201d Barber said in front of the courthouse. \u201cWhat we have seen here is not just murder, it\u2019s an act of terrorism in America.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n