?I just killed a man?: defendant who fatally shot Ahmaud Arbery testifies

Hundreds of pastors rallied and prayed outside the trial of the three white men accused of murdering 25-year-old Black jogger Ahmaud Arbery in 2020, with the gathering on Thursday organized in response to a defense lawyer's bid to keep Black church leaders out of the courtroom.

Inside the court house, the defense rested its case on Thursday afternoon, shortly after Travis McMichael, who fatally shot Arbery on 23 February 2020, testified that the younger man's demeanor struck him as suspicious but that Arbery didn't threaten him in any way before he opened fire.

Testimony had resumed in Brunswick, south-east Georgia, as the Rev Al Sharpton organized the large group of Black ministers.

Many carried signs reading, "Black pastors matter," and some wore buttons with Arbery's picture and the hashtag they were using for the case, "#JusticeForAhmaud."

Last week, a defense attorney intensified frustrations in the coastal Georgia community when he said he didn't want "any more Black pastors" sitting in the Glynn county courtroom with Arbery's family.

Attorney Kevin Gough asked the judge to remove Sharpton, saying the civil rights activist was trying to influence the jury, which is disproportionately white. The judge refused, and later called Gough's remarks "reprehensible".

As the crowd grew outside, the Rev Jesse Jackson once again joined Arbery's family in the courtroom on Thursday.