can you take us through this prosecution, lee merritt? lee: yes. said take me through the prosecution? amy: yes, talk about the connection to law enforcement and how long it took bring charges and the final release of that video, amazingly, by the third man who has been arrested. lee: in february of 2020 this all happened. it took 74 days before anyone was arrested. thatas only ter one the defeants decided that this video would help to clear up some of the rumors that re going on about how ahmaud was murdered. he released it under the direction of his attorney to a local radio station. by then they contacted the den appointed prosecutor in the case. we were on our third prosecutor. to get the case before a grand jury to arrest these men. when the video was released e georgia bureau of investation got involvedecause of the national outcry. it went almost immediately ral. then the dominoes began to fall. amy: the fact that gregory mcmichael was in law enforcement, was a police officer, was an investigator, and then that connection to jackie johnson,

we spoke to attorney lee merritt who is representing arbery's mother in a separate civil case. >> what do you think the jury should look like? >> should reflect the diversity of the brunswick community. >> i have my concerns. hopefully we get the right people in the right place to make the right decision. >> reporter: this process will take time, as long as two weeks, because 1,000 people were summoned. >> the case has already led to changes to georgia law including creation of a hate crime statute and repeal of a citizens arrest law. >>> bay area businesses hit hard with lawsuits for violating americans with disabilities act. some of the businesses are fighting back turning tables on one man who has filed hundreds of complaint. >> at some point if somebody doesn't stand up and say enough is enough, this keeps going on and on and on. >> tune in for fighting ada filer. that's tonight at kpix5 news at 7:00. >>> a public hearing geared to upgrading safety for cyclists and pedestrians on the golden gate bridge. the board is listening to suggestions from the general public. this is aimed at

lee merritt is one of the attorneys representing the arbery family in a civil case. >> i think that wehere. i know the prosecutor's office is motivated. >> ahmaud just wasn't a jogger that was jogging in a neighborhood in south georgia. ahmaud was my son, ahmaud and loved. >> reporter: wanda cooper jones, arbery's mother, says after more than a year of heartache, she's ready for healing. >> this day means a lot to me. thinking back when ahmaud was first killed, we went throug three prosecutors, we went through new arrests and we finally made it this far. so, this morning, i'm very grateful. >> reporter: the mcmichaels and roddy bryan pleaded not guilty. 1,000 people were sent to jury summons, but the process of whittling it down to 12 jurors and four alternates could take as long as two weeks. norah. >> o'donnell: omar villafranca, thank you. today former president trump sued the congressional committee investigating the deadly january 6th assault on the u.s. capitol. he wants to block the committee from getting his administration's records from the national archives, calling the inves

lee merritt is one of the attorneys representing the arbery family in a civil case. >> i think that we have a shot at justice here. i know the prosecutor's office is motivated. >> ahmaud wasn't just a jogger jogging in a neighborhood. ahmaud was my son. ahmaud was loved. >> reporter: wanda cooper jones, ahmaud arbery's mother said after years of heartache. >> when ahmaud was first killed, we went through three prosecutors, no arrests, and we finally made it this far. so this morning i'm very grateful. >> reporter: the mcmichaels and roddy bryant have pleaded not guilty. one thousand people were sent to jury summons. but the process of whittling that down to four juror 12 juries and four alternates could take as long as two weeks. >> thank you. >>> today former president trump sued the congressional committee investigating the deadly january 6 assault on the u.s. capitol. he wants to block the committee from getting his administration's records from the national archives, calling the investigation an illegal fishing expedition that he says violates the constitutional separation of power

i'm joined now by ahmaud's mother, wanda cooper jones, and their attorney lee merritt who is runninge back to both of you. >> thank you, chris. >> and what does it mean to you that this trial is finally beginning, about who killed your son? >> i'm very thankful. the case has come a very long way. i'm pleased in the direction that the case is going. i never thought that the day that we would pick jurors would come and the day has finally come. >> what should it mean about the 603 days, but why it took this long? >> well, it's a reflection of covid-19 and the delays in the courtroom in that way. but it's also where we are in our justice system. you know, i feel like if the victim was different, if the victim was white, we would have had a much more speedy trial. we would see quicker justice. however, we're glad that we're here today. >> are you worried, wanda, that the jury will be fair? >> i have my concerns. like you said earlier, it took over 600 days to get to this day. but with that being said, because it's the same community that elected the d.a. into office, this is the same com

lee merritt and i were talking about that to ahmaud's family, they're going to try to attack his characterand say something, they're going to say the fear of a scary black person to try to justify this unjustifiable killing that that video is clear. >> marcus, is this judge will consider whether to introduce or allow prosecutors to introduce evidence of the vanity license plate of travis mcmichael that is a confederate flag, potential jurors are being asked if they see the flag as a racist symbol. what do you make of that question and the others you heard so far? >> well, i think it is a true fact. you can see that, what that flag stands for. that's the kind of group he supports. and, you know, his family is racist. ain't no way around it. it is the truth, you know. if you aren't racist -- if you need a -- >> ben, how pivotal is that decision by the judge going to be? >> well, again, brianna, i think the video is the most important witness here. so you can look at that text messages, and you see the racial overtones in their mentality. i still believe the video -- you think about this is a

joining me now is arbery family attorney lee merritt. lee is also running for attorney general.o that father describing him being lynched is gut wrenching and heart breaking. when you look at the demographics, brunswick, georgia, is predominantly black n. flint county where the trial will take place it's only 26% black. you know how these things going with jurors. what impact will this have on jury selection and can he get a fair trial if the jury box is disproportionately white? >> well, the glen county community did one thing recently. they had an alleged projecting johnson, the prosecutor responsible for doing justice in the states initially. they voted to elect her out, despite the demographic population there i'm sorry, they voted her out of office. so that's one sign, but it's going to be difficult in a place like glen county to find a group of jurors who haven't already developed an opinion about the case. that's the real concern. >> i think when i was reading the reporting on this, it made me wonder how our jury is selected generally, a lot is from the voter rolls. >> if