Monday on Political Rewind: The federal trial to determine whether racial hatred led to the murder of Ahmaud Arbery begins in Brunswick, Georgia. And, after many months the Buckhead city movement collapsed in a matter of hours last week. But, we start with all of the Georgia connections in last night's Super Bowl.
Some potential jurors in the upcoming federal trial over the killing of Ahmaud Arbery are questioning whether crimes should be treated differently if they're motivated by race. Several people summoned to court Tuesday on the second day of jury selection said they believe issues with racism in America are overblown and that crimes should be punished based on actions, not racial motivation.
Jury selection is off to a fast start in the federal hate crimes trial of the three men already convicted of murdering Ahmaud Arbery. U.S. District Court Judge Lisa Godbey Wood deemed 30 of 52 potentials jurors questioned Monday at the courthouse in Brunswick, Georgia, to be qualified to stay in the jury pool.
Monday on Political Rewind: Partisan gerrymandering has reduced the number of competitive congressional seats to lows not seen for decades. Meanwhile, Georgia GOP legislators promote bills that would exert new control over the teaching of race in state classrooms. Also, the federal trial for the McMichaels for the murder of Ahmaud Arbery starts this week.
Friday on Political Rewind: This year's session of the General Assembly might be defined by efforts to control what is taught in the state’s schools. GOP bills banning “critical race theory” and “obscene” books are in the mix. Our panel looks at the potential impact. Meanwhile, one defendant in the federal trial of the murderers of Ahmaud Arbery withdraws his guilty plea, ensuring the hate crime trial will go forward for at least one of the three men convicted in the state trial.
Travis McMichael on Friday reversed his plan to plead guilty in the federal case days after a judge rejected terms of a plea deal that was met with passionate objections by Ahmaud Arbery's parents.
A man convicted of murder for his role in the death of Ahmaud Arbery says he plans to stand trial on federal hate crime charges. An attorney for Greg McMichael announced in a legal filing late Thursday that McMichael had backed down from plans to plead guilty in the federal case.
McMichael and his son Travis had agreed to plead guilty in return for serving time in a federal prison instead of a state one in a deal rejected by a judge after Arbery's parents objected to it.
Tuesday on Political Rewind: A judge rejected a plea deal in the killing of Ahmaud Arbery. Meanwhile, the Fulton County district attorney asked the FBI for security help as she investigates former President Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the election. Sonny Perdue could be back on track to become the next chancellor for the Georgia university system. And a Senate committee takes up constitutional carry today at 4 p.m.
A federal judge on Monday rejected the terms of a proposed plea agreement in the federal hate crime case against Travis McMichael, one of the three men convicted in a separate state case of murdering Ahmaud Arbery, the Black jogger who McMichael fatally shot outside Brunswick two years ago.
Monday on Political Rewind: The McMichaels have reached a plea deal to avoid federal charges in the killing of Ahmaud Arbery, but a judge needs to sign off on it. Arbery's parents are calling the deal a betrayal. Meanwhile, David Shafer, the chairman of the Georgia Republican Party, has been subpoenaed. He'll testify to the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection. Plus, we look at how the Supreme Court could change after the retirement of Justice Breyer.
The mother of Ahmaud Arbery is calling a plea deal with her son's killers a betrayal. She wants a federal judge to reject it and proceed with their trial on hate crime charges.
