Hogue said in her closing arguments that Arbery was in the neighborhood with the intent to commit burglaries, and that her client confronted him in self defense.
“Turning Ahmaud Arbery into a victim after the choices that he made, does not reflect the reality of what brought Ahmaud Arbery to Satilla Shores in his khaki shorts, with no socks to cover his long, dirty toenails,” she said.
She claimed Arbery’s decisions, in part, led to his death, claiming he reached for a gun or made the impression he was reaching for a gun.
“There were two sets of decision-makers on February 23. It is not just the McMichael’s decisions that led to this tragedy,” she said. “No one but Ahmaud Arbery made the decision to either reach for, or certainly give the very real impression, that he was reaching for a handgun… and no one but Ahmaud Arbery made the decision not to stop when Travis’ truck rolled up beside him.”
