“The decision to rely on the citizen’s arrest statute is really a recent invention, prior to that they just simply said it was self-defense,” Merritt told CNN, adding that the men are trying to use the law to say they were trying to stop a crime.
After seeing Arbery jogging, McMichael then alerted his 34-year-old son, Travis, according to a Glynn County Police report.
Travis McMichael then exited the truck with the shotgun, and his father claimed at that point Arbery “violently attacked” his son, and they struggled over the gun.
Travis McMichael fired two shots, according to the police report, killing Arbery.
Merritt added that McMichael and his son only had the authority to follow Arbery and send law enforcement to the location.
