“Use of terms such as 'victim' allows the focus to shift to the accused rather than remain on the proof of every element of the crimes charged," attorneys for Travis and Greg McMichael wrote in a Dec. 30 motion.
The new video shows Travis McMichael and his father Gregory telling Glynn County police officers their version of the events that ended in the killing of 26-year-old Ahmaud Arbery.
Several messages Travis McMichael sent to friends were read aloud in court as a judge weighs whether to grant the defendants in Ahmaud Arbery's murder case bond.
Prosecutors also said that Travis McMichael, Gregory McMichael and William "Roddie" Bryan chased down Ahmaud Arbery and attempted to box in with their pickup trucks multiple times before he was fatally shot.
“It appears that Gregory McMichael had been informally ‘deputized’ by the Glynn County Police Department," a lawyer for property owner Larry English said after finding the text message from a Glynn County officer, which other law enforcement experts find troubling.