Ahmaud Arbery’s family not in courtroom when jury selection began due to miscommunication

GLYNN COUNTY, Ga. — Jury selection continued Tuesday in the federal hate crimes case against three men convicted of killing Ahmaud Arbery.

They all face federal charges stemming from the killing of Arbery in Brunswick in 2020.

More than a thousand people were given jury notices.

Marcus Arbery, Ahmaud’s father, headed into the federal courthouse in Brunswick just after 9 a.m. Tuesday morning.

On Monday, the courtroom was filled with potential jurors, the judge, reporters, and lawyers, but the only ones visibly not present were Arbery’s family.

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“Initially we were advised that the judge was not allowing anyone in the courtroom but the prospective jurors and the parties. And that the family was not even allowed in there and that they were closing the courtroom to the public, basically until the jury was selected,” Lynn Whitfield with the Transformative Justice Coalition, said.

Jury selection is expected to wrap up this week.

Judge Lisa Godbey Wood already said a panel of 12 jurors and four alternates could be seated as early as Monday.

Unlike the state trial, Whitfield told Action News Jax she doesn’t believe race will be a determining factor when it comes to the makeup of the jury.

“That’s what we’re looking for in this case. People who can listen to the evidence, regardless of their race and render a verdict, a true verdict in the case,” Whitfield said.

Action News Jax reporter Alicia Tarancon reached out to the United States District Court Southern District of Georgia about why there was a miscommunication with the family.

John Triplett, the clerk of court, told Tarancon over the phone that information didn’t come from the court.

Triplett said the courts have and will continue to be open to the media and others. He went on to say that the courtroom has signage reserved for the family members and it was fully prepared for family to be present.

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Whitfield said when the Transformative Justice Coalition found out that Arbery’s family was allowed inside the courtroom, members hopped on a plane Tuesday morning so they could be in Brunswick to support them.

“We’re not going to desert them just because we got justice on the state side. We made a promise and a commitment we would be there with them on the federal side,” Whitfield said.

The judge also said once a jury is selected, the federal trial should wrap up between seven to 12 days.

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