BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) — An FBI intelligence analyst is going through dozens of text messages and social media posts in which two of the three men convicted of killing Ahmaud Arbery repeatedly used racial slurs.
FBI analyst Amy Vaughan led the jury through the evidence Wednesday at the defendants' federal hate crimes trial.
Vaughan detailed conversations that Travis McMichael and William "Roddie" Bryan had with other people identified only by their initials.
Vaughan said the FBI wasn't able to access Greg McMichael's phone because it was encrypted.
The second trial in the young Black man's killing began this week, with prosecutors saying they will show that the 25-year-old Black man was chased and shot in February 2020 because of his skin color.
The McMichaels were found guilty in November after they armed themselves and chased the Black jogger in a pickup truck after spotting him running in their coastal Georgia neighborhood in 2020.
No arrests were initially made until two months later when the video of the altercation was leaked online, the Associated Press reported.
Last month, the same three men received life sentences for murder.
The Associated Press reported that the hate crimes trial is expected to last between a week and 12 days.
