Followed the case semi-closely. The whole thing stemmed from the McMichaels attempting to effect a “citizens arrest” of Arbery, but under Georgia law, they needed “immediate knowledge” of a felony, which they basically admitted that they didn’t have. They suspected (correctly) that Arbery had entered a house under construction (the felony, burglary), but the McMichaels basically admitted that they had a suspicion and wanted to question Arbery, they didn’t actually see him enter or leave the house.
So they didn’t actually have the legal right to detain or arrest Arbery, making their use of force illegal. So the McMIchaels are probably rightly guilty. Bryan was basically along for the ride, and it would not be surprising if he’s acquitted.
That’s the problem with the trial — the prosecutor and the judge have misinterpreted the citizen’s arrest statute, and the jury has been wrongly instructed. There is immediate knowledge “or” prior suspicion, but the state and the court have told the jury it’s both (”and”).
The defense lawyers have objected, and it likely will form the basis for an appeal and mistrial if any are convicted.
Bullsh*t. They didn't "detain" him. And by "detain", I mean grab him physically. You cannot "detain" someone by yelling "stop!" Arbery was not detained, he could have continued running. He also was not "arrested" as in stopped from moving.
And the use of force was in response to a violent attack. No force was used until after Arbery assaulted the man and tried to wrest his gun away from him.