(CN) — The prosecution and defense both rested their cases Friday afternoon in the federal hate crimes trial of the three men convicted last year of murder and other charges in the death of Ahmaud Arbery.
As part of an effort to convince jurors that Travis McMichael and his father Greg McMichael targeted, chased and murdered the 25-year-old Black man due to his race, the prosecution presented testimony from three women who said the McMichaels made racist remarks in their presence.
The McMichaels chased Arbery in their pickup truck after spotting him jogging through their neighborhood on Feb. 23, 2020. A neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan, joined in, filming the chase on his phone and capturing the moment Travis McMichael fired two fatal shotgun blasts at Arbery.
The men were sentenced in January to life in prison after a state court trial. They now face federal charges for attempted kidnapping and using force or the threat of force to intimidate Arbery based on his race. The McMichaels have also been charged separately with firearms offenses.
A woman who served under Travis McMichael in the U.S. Coast Guard testified Friday that he made crass comments about her sex life that made her uncomfortable and used racial slurs.
Kristie Ronquille said she met the younger McMichael when they were stationed together in Pascagoula, Mississippi. One day, while they were in a cafeteria area of the Coast Guard station, Ronquille pointed out an NBA player on a televised basketball game as someone she used to date.
Ronquille became emotional as she described how the conversation “took a turn.” She broke down on the witness stand as she told jurors that McMichael repeatedly called her an “n-word lover” and made crude remarks which she said insinuated that her sexual history was “disturbing.”
The Kentucky native said she felt “taken aback and angry” but chose not to correct McMichael or report him because she was “rather green” in the Coast Guard and did not know what resources might be available to her.
“It was the first time I’d ever heard remarks used like that,” she said through tears.
Amy Lee Copeland, an attorney representing Travis McMichael, asked Ronquille about an FBI interview in which she told an agent she was only “90% sure” he made the comments. Copeland was unable to play audio of the interview or present an interview transcript.
The jury also heard testimony from Kim Ballesteros, a neighbor who said that Greg McMichael once mocked a “difficult” tenant of his, a Black woman, during a conversation the two had about their experiences renting out properties.
Ballesteros said the elder McMichael had nicknamed the tenant “the walrus” due to her skin color and weight. He also said he disconnected the tenant’s air conditioning during the hot Georgia summer because she was late on rent.
“You should have seen how fast her big Black ass came with the rent check,” McMichael told her, Ballesteros testified.
“It was racist and uncomfortable and I was, quite frankly, disappointed,” she said.
A.J. Balbo, Greg McMichael’s attorney, said during cross-examination that Ballesteros’ testimony showed his client had been willing to rent property to Black people.





