they were following him and passed by him,, not waiting for him,,
you claimed they pre planned it when it was all a spur of the moment event,, you said they ambushed him when they didnt know he existed until the event happened and then followed him to confront him to hold him for the police,,
if their intent was to kill him it would have happened long before it did,,
youre a perfect example of why over emotional women should never serve on juries,,
Actually, they had seen him jogging by before, and were convinced he was a thief.
I am going to mix facts, with opinions here. I am going to clearly identify both.
Facts. Travis McMichaels reported a gun stolen from his truck while it was parked outside of his house. That was by the way the only burglary actually reported to the Police for months before the shooting. This was the only incident for the “rash” of burglaries that the McMichaels and their defenders swear was justification for the pursuit.
They saw Arbury jogging often, nearly every day, and believed he was the burglar.
OPINION BEGINS HERE.
What I think is this. The McMichaels decided the black guy stole the gun. It ate at them. It infuriated them that this guy could steal from THEM and just jog by. A glance from him was seen as a smirk, a subtle clue to the two of them that he stole from them and he thought it was funny. Mocking them even.
They were convinced he had stolen, and therefore he must be stealing every time he went by. They didn’t question this assumption. I suspect they intended to stop Arbury, get a cop there, and then shout at Arbury in the presence of the cop to get him to confess to the thefts. Perhaps get one of the cops to take the guy in and interrogate him and get the confession.
Now, they believed that Arbury had stolen the gun. So they believed he must be armed, with Travis’s own pistol. They said he had jogged by previously and made a move towards his waist like he was carrying a gun. This was their justification for grabbing their own firearms and heading out. They believed that Arbury was armed, with the gun he had stolen from Travis’s truck.
But it all goes back to the original fact, and their belief. They had seen Arbury before. Many times. And they believed that he had stolen Travis’s gun. Again the only burglary reported to the cops.
Now, I don’t know if Racism played a part. I don’t know if they decided that Black was not going to get away with it. I suspect it may have. I don’t know. I do believe that they decided to put a stop to this shit once and for all. They couldn’t relax with this dangerous man just jogging by like that. Not when they knew in their hearts he was the guy who had stolen Travis’s gun.
END OPINION.