'It was racist': Jurors hear more evidence in federal hate crime trial against Ahmaud Arbery's killers

Following three days of racist text messages, social media posts, and graphic crime scene images, jurors face a fourth day of testimony in the federal hate crimes trial against Ahmaud Arbery's killers.

Jurors heard from five witnesses on Friday morning, including two people who worked closely with Travis McMichael and a neighbor of the McMichael family. Witnesses largely testified to the two defendants' use of a racial slur to describe Black people and, in Greg McMichael's case, what was described as racist behavior toward a Black woman tenant.

Jurors also saw a shotgun used to kill Arbery and heard jail conversations between Travis McMichael and a woman identified as "mom" on the call and Gregory McMichael and someone identified as "Mack," who he also refers to as bro.

Jurors are expected to hear at least one more witness from the prosecution in the afternoon.

'It was racist'

Former neighbor Kimberly Ballesteros testified she and her husband were having a conversation with Gregory McMichael about tenants when McMichael made disparaging remarks about a Black woman tenant behind on her rent, calling her a "big fat Black woman" and giving her the nickname "walrus."

Ballesteros testified McMichael told the couple he'd cut the woman's air conditioning off in the summer in an effort to get her to pay her rent. "He said, 'You should've seen how fast her big Black (expletive) came with the rent check.'"

The comments, Ballesteros said, made her and her husband uncomfortable. "We just looked at each other like what the heck was that," she said in court. "It was racist and uncomfortable and I was, quite frankly, disappointed."

During cross-examination, Gregory McMichael's attorney A.J. Balbo noted Ballesteros had run into McMichael after that and that the conversation didn't prevent her from asking her former neighbor for help with crime issues in the neighborhood. He also noted that his client rented to Black people.

Ballesteros had earlier testified she wasn't concerned about crime despite having her purse stolen from her unlocked car, but she was worried about activity at a Zellwood Drive home owned by a white resident. She believed crime in the neighborhood stemmed from that person's home. She testified she did not seek out McMichael, but hoped his law enforcement background would help.

"We just felt like somebody should know and that Greg, with his background, could put it in the hands of someone who might look at it," she said.

Dating choices

Another witness, Kristie Ronquille, testified Travis McMichael frequently brought up her prior relationship with a Black man and called her an "n-word lover." Ronquille and McMichael worked in the United States Coast Guard together and were stationed in Pascagoula, Mississippi, where he was her supervisor. The two were occasionally around each other in a social setting because McMichael roomed with her boyfriend at the time.

Ronquille said on two occasions McMichael made disparaging remarks about her dating history with a Black man. "Once you go Black, you're in a wheelchair," Ronquille said was one comment Travis McMichael made to her.

Ronquille testified she didn't respond because she was "taken aback" and was afraid to report him because he was her supervisor. "I was rather green and didn't know the resources available to me," she said. "Who do you tell on your boss to?"

During cross-examination, McMichael's attorney Amy Copeland referenced Ronquille's FBI interview in which she told them she didn't like McMichael and called him "an odd character," "a crazy (expletive)," and "lived his whole life like an episode of 'Jackass,'" a television show where people perform pranks.

Copeland also noted that Ronquille's then-boyfriend had previously used a racial slur to describe a Black person at a holiday party and was escorted out. On redirect, Ronquille clarified she didn't like McMichael because of his comments about her and his use of a racial slur.

Counseling question

Testimony proved emotional enough earlier in the week that one unidentified juror asked a U.S. Marshal if there were federal funds for counseling, Judge Lisa Godbey Wood stated Thursday morning. She affirmed that federal funds were available.

Wood said the question came after Wednesday's proceedings when jurors were shown messages, social media posts, and memes that indicated racial animus on the part of Travis McMichael, 36, his father Gregory McMichael, 66, and their neighbor William "Roddie" Bryan, 52. Such evidence included frequent use of a racial slur to describe Black people.

Additionally, jurors saw up-close footage of Arbery's body laying in the street of the Satilla Shores neighborhood just after he was killed Feb. 23, 2020, while out on a jog through the Brunswick community.

1956 Georgia flag vanity plate

During Thursday's proceedings, Georgia Bureau of Investigation special agent Jason Seacrist testified Travis McMichael's Ford F150 contained a vanity plate of the former Georgia flag, which was redesigned and adopted in 1956 to include the Confederate battle emblem in opposition to the landmark 1954 U.S. Supreme Court decision to desegregate public schools. That flag was used until 2001, when a new state flag — a compromise flag — was designed, but the current state flag was not approved by voters until 2004.

Previous coverage: Racist texts, social media posts heard in hate crimes trial of Ahmaud Arbery's killers

Ahmaud Arbery case: Jurors see 1956 Georgia flag vanity plate on Arbery killer's truck

Seacrist testified investigators learned the flag plate was removed after cross-referencing a search of the vehicle with a Glynn County Police Department report, which indicated that the plate was on the truck at the time of the killing. Seacrist said he did not know when or why the plate was removed, but that it was removed sometime after Arbery was killed Feb. 23, 2020.

Seacrist also testified that a Blue Confederate Cross decal was on the inside lid of the toolbox attached to Travis McMichael's truck. Underneath the decal was the initials "G.O.B." Seacrist said he did not know what the initials stood for.

Neither the plate nor the decal was discussed beyond introduction as Seacrist's testimony largely focused on his interview with Bryan, the man who filmed Arbery's killing.

Jurors have heard from a dozen federal witnesses of a list of at least 30 people that could be called by the prosecution, including GBI and FBI officials, Satilla Shores residents, and a friend of Travis McMichael. Jurors also heard the three-hour long deposition from Larry English, the man whose home was at the center of the state murder trial.

Raisa Habersham is a watchdog and investigative reporter for Savannah Morning News. Contact her at rhabersham@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Ahmaud Arbery update: Jurors hear more testimony in hate crime trial