It wasn’t just going after some random black men - for some reason they wanted to kill this guy.
If they wanted to kill him, then why did he wait until Arbery attacked him?
It may have been because Arbrey apparently had a documented history of engaging in criminal activity and claiming to be “running” when caught.
If true, it doesn’t change the fact that the defendants were correctly found guilty of murder. But it might provide some defense to the federal hate crime charge, as evidence that they weren’t targeting him because of his race.