>> happiness for my community, for the arbery family, for wanda cooper jones. i think it was a horrible thing to happen to their son. my family is friends of theirs and we want it to support them to make sure they know they have love but as far away as where i live in atlanta. >> did you ever have doubt? it took over two months before there was even an arrest in this case. >> initially i was sought out pby the uncle looking for some advice on the kill of his n nephew. we gave some advice but when it came out, it was horrific, it was awful, it was terrible. and right here where we're at now, now my community can heal again. miss jones and mr. arbery can probably rest a little better -- >> we're having some trouble there with martin's microphone. let's go back to sara sidner and ryan young. guys, if you're still with me and listening, i just want to ask you because i know you've both had an opportunity to speak to the attorneys in this case. you've been there all week for us reporting on this. do you think that the resounding guilty verdict -- there were only, i

wanda cooper prayed and she made criminal charges herself. when she came to glynn county, when she was looking for justice and glynn county, she was faced with a corrupt legal system that did not investigate her sons death during the course the child. -- trial. she did her own investigation and hired her own attorneys. can you all join me in giving around of applause? [applause] >> amen. >> i just want to thank you guys. thank you. thank you to everyone of you. you fought the fight with us. it has been a long fight. it is been a hard fight. but god is good. >> yes he is. early in, i never thought this day would come. back in 2020. i never thought this day would come. but god is good. i was going to tell everybody thank you. thank you for those who marched, those who prayed, most of all the ones who prayed. thank you god. thank you. you know him as ahmad, i know him as my son. he will rest in peace. >> amen. [applause] [inaudible] >> you all heard what came out of marcus aubrey when they pronounce travis mcmichael guilty. he could not contain

wanda cooper prayed and she made criminal charges herself. >> that's right. >> when she was looking for justice in glynn county, when she came, she was faced with a corrupt legal system that did not investigate her son's death during the course of the trial. she did her own investigation and hired her own attorneys. can you all join me in giving a round of applause for this mother? [applause] wanda, do you want to come forward? come on. >> i just want to say, thank you guys. thank you. thank you to each and every one of you. you fought the fight with us. it has been a long fight. it has been a hard fight. but god is good. >> yes, he is. >> early in, i never thought this day would come. back in 2020. i never thought this day would come. but god is good. i just want to tell everybody, thank you. thank you, for those who marched, those who prayed, most of all, the ones who prayed. thank you god. -- thank you, god. thank you. you know him as ahmad, i know him as my son. he will now rest in peace. thank you, lord. amen. [applause] >> praise the lord. >> [indiscernible] >> you all heard what

when we first talked to ahmaud arbery's mother, wanda cooper-jones, 17 months ago, there was not a lot of attention on this case. but she was pushing investigators to dig deeper. she wanted the men arrested, tried, and convicted. today, a year and a half later, because of her pressure, her prayers were answered. >> count one, malice murder, we the jury find the defendant, travis mcmichael, guilty. >> wooo! >> reporter: an emergency reaction from ahmaud arbery's father on the first of the 23 guilty verdicts for the men who murdered his son. arbery's mother wanda cooper-jones wept in the back row as the verdict was read. >> to tell you the truth i never saw this day, back in 2020, i never thought this day would come. but god is good. >> reporter: athlete men stood silent as their fats were read. they could spend the rest of their lives in prison. their attorneys say they're disappointed but respect the jury's decision. >> we understand that they feel they have gotten justice today. we respect that. we honor that. >> reporter: travis mcmichael, the man who pulled the trigger, was found gu

when we first talked to ahmaud arbery's mother, wanda cooper-jones, 17 months ago there was not a lot of attention on this case. but she was pushing investigators to dig deeper. she wanted the men arrested, tried and convicted. today, a year and a half later, because of her pressure her prayers were answered. >> count 1, malice murder. we the jury find the defendant, travis mcmichael, guilty. >> whoo! >> reporter: an emotional reaction from ahmaud arbery's father to the first of 23 guilty verdicts for the three men who murdered his son. arbery's mother, wanda cooper-jones, went in the back row as the verdict was read. >> to tell you the truth, i never saw this day back in 2020. i never thought this day would come. but god is good. >> reporter: the three men stood silent as their fates were read. they could spend the rest of their lives in prison. their attorneys say they're disappointed but respect the jury's decision. >> we understand that they feel they have gotten justice today. we respect that. we honor that. >> reporter: travis mcmichael, the man who pulled the trigger, was found

. >> reporter: it's been 622 days since wanda cooper jones last saw her son, ahmaud arbery, alive. in broad daylight while jogging in georgia in what's being called a modern-day lynching. >> all rise. >> reporter: today in the trial in the case surrounding the death of the 25-year-old is finally under way. do you feel like you're closer to justice now? >> i do feel like we're getting closer to justice for ahmaud day by day. >> reporter: travis mcmichael, father gregory mcmichael, and neighbor woody randall brian are standing together, charged with nine counts each including murder and aggravated assault. >> mr. arbery is under attack by all three of these men. all three trapped him like a rat between their two pickup trucks. >> reporter: the prosecution arguing the defendants chased down arbery for five minutes after one of them saw him running down the street in what he described at a very fast pace. >> he's assumed the worst and has absolutely no immediate knowledge of any crime whatsoever. all three of these defendants did everything they did based on assumptions. >> reporter: f

. >> ahmaud arbery was wanda cooper-jones' and marcus arbery sr.'s third child. they had an older son, marcus jr., and they also had a daughter, jasmine. >> ahmaud was the baby. i had ahmaud on mother's day. i knew ahmaud would be the last one, so i cherished ahmaud. >> and he was your mother's day gift. >> yes. we shared a very special bond. ahmaud was the kid that would come in and give me a kiss on the cheek or just come in and give me a hug around the neck. >> ain't a day pass by he ain't gonna tell you that he loved you. and he didn't just tell you that, he showed that. >> he was a funny guy, always wanting to keep people laughing. we'd all be joked out, and he going to be right in the center of it, making us laugh. >> right or wrong, if you his family, he going to stick with you, beside you. he was a great kid. >> when he knew i was having a bad day, he would come in and say something that he thought was funny to get me to smile. his goal was to make me happy, and he did that. you don't take any time for granted at this point. >> life was pretty tough for w

wanda cooper jones and marcus arbery were advocates for ahmad. and they really pushed this one when it first happened. and i think the message is that you have to let the criminal justice system work and in this case, yes, it did work. and to trust which they did, they trusted us and they trusted this team to bring justice for them and their family but to trust the system of the constitution and due process just to let it work. >> all right. linda, larissa and paul, thank you so much for joining us. happy thanksgiving, we appreciate it. >> thank you. >> happy thanksgivings. >> congrats on a job well done. thank you very much. >>> coming up, an update on holiday travel heading for pandemic era records across the u.s. millions are ignoring the crowded airports and sky high gas prices and worried about the coronavirus. every business is on a journey. and along the ride, you'll find many challenges. ♪ your dell technologies advisor can help you find the right tech solutions. so you can stop at nothing for your customers. (vo) the more we do with our

. >> i hear you and i think your points are well taken because one of the things that wanda cooper, ahmaudd, was how much she had to pray, and when she didn't have any resources she had to rely on god. that was her only source of resources because at first, no one was charged, as you know, for a very long time in this case. two of the prosecutors had to recuse themselves because they had some sort of connections with the defendants. >> that's right. >> and as you heard lee merit say, wanda cooper prayed the initial prosecutor out of the way. now, i think that prayer is very powerful, and that's important, however, that shouldn't be your only line of defense, and it sounds like for wanda cooper, for a long time, it was. >> you know, she's standing in a serious tradition. sojourner truth said i pray and i stand in the truth, i have no fear because the truth is all powerful. a lot of people in the spatce, people on camera, and many, myself, even, we weren't there. she fought a lot of this by herself. she kept pushing. she prayed with her feet and with her soul. this case happened before the g

happy thanksgiving. >> joining me now is wanda cooper-jones and her attorney lee merritt. thank you for being with us. we saw you in the courtroom yesterday, as the verdict was being read. take us inside there, that moment, what was it like for you to hear those words? >> i sat there patiently and heard the judge give the charges, and after the first charge, i heard guilty, i was overwhelmed with joy, because we finally got justice for ahmaud. the word guilty was the word that i wanted to hear 18 months ago. and we finally got that word of guilty. >> you talk about 18 months ago, and for me, the end of this trial made me reflect on the beginning of this all. the murder of your son, and then how long it took for this case to be taken seriously. what lesson have you learned from this? >> what i take away from this as mom is don't give up, continue fighting. earlier in the case it took us 74 days, 74 days to get an arrest. and i knew it was my job as mom to really find out what happened to ahmaud. i prayed, god answered my prayers. so i'm just thankful sitting here this morni

wanda cooper jones, ahmaud's mother, and mr. marcus arbery sr., the father of ahmaud, in seeking justice during this process. it has been a long road and we are so happy that we're able to be here at this end of this road. we would like to also say thank you, and we commend the courage and bravery of this jury to say that what happened on february 23rd, 2020, to ahmaud arbery, the hunting and killing of ahmaud arbery, it was not only morally wrong, but legally wrong. and we are thankful for that. we want to thank and specifically recognize some people who have been involved with regard to the prosecution of this case. in particular our team. our lead attorney, senior assistant district attorney linda donakowsky. [ cheers and applause ] assistant district attorney larissa olivera. senior assistant district attorney paul camarillo. our chief investigator charles prescott. deputy chief investigator keith lamone. investigator cameron watson. investigator darius mcclure. we also need to thank people from at home who have also been he

we heard that dramatic testimony and then saw ahmaud arbery's mom wanda cooper jones and came out here and talked to some of her supporters and talked about how she does believe that there will be a conviction in this case. take a listen. >> didn't threaten you in any way? >> no. >> didn't verbal threaten you? >> not veeshlly. >> didn't swear at you. >> didn't swear. >> didn't say anything? >> did not. >> didn't pull out a gun? >> no. >> turned and ran away. >> reporter: we did have the sound from wanda cooper jones talking about the reaction to the testimony there from travis mcmichael. yasmin, closing arguments set to begin tomorrow and the defendants face life in prison. >> thank you for that. >>> a civil rights probe in south lake. the texas town that's the epicenter of the phantom fight over critical race theory and now the subject of three investigations. the parents turn the sights on blocking mental health programs for children. we'll be right back. ht back. men. ...demands a lotion this pure. new gold bond pure moisture lotion. 24-hour hydration. no parabens, dyes, or fragranc

for more reaction, i'm joined by wanda cooper jones and her attorney. wanda and lee, thank you so much. our hearts continue to go out to you. you said that back this 2020, you never thought that this day would come. today your son's killers were brought to justice. what does that mean to you? >> it means a lot. and it means that my prayers has been answered. early back in the case back in 2020, 74 days without an arrest. and we finally was able to go through a lengthy trial and get justice for him. >> and so what went through your mind when you heard the judge say guilty for the very first time? i can't imagine the relief what you were feeling at that moment? >> again, we waited 74 days without an arrest. and then to hear that the accused murderers were actually found guilty, that was huge. we finally got the justice for ahmaud arbery oigthat he deserv. >> and kamala harris released a statement saying that these verdicts sent an important message, but she is taking issue with the defense team and some of the comments that they made, some of the horrendo

. >> reporter: ahmaud arbery's mother, wanda cooper jones, spoke about her own pain after watching today's testimony. >> travis was on the stand wiping tears from his eyes. but again, travis is alive. i mean, the tears he shedded today was no -- can you imagine the tears that we have shared? >> ryan young joins me now. ryan, good evening to you. thanks for joining us, sir. the defense attorney kevin gough who is representing one of the other men on trial, william roddie bryan jr., has been in the spotlight for his comments about the black pastors being in the room. he didn't let up today, did he? >> reporter: no, don. and you actually have to wonder what he's thinking here because let's not forget the jury's not actually hearing him make these arguments over and over again. but the community is. the world is. america is. and it seems like the pastors are responding to this call. i mean, they've been showing up. we've been told that hundreds will be here tomorrow. you can kind of feel the town sort of changing because they are preparing for a large gathering. let's not forget, there will be

. >> his mother, wanda cooper jones that she wanted to show her family the mural on a day when she isys people often forget heh family went 74 days before there were any arrests in this case. she told us there was a relief hearing the verdict that all three defendants were found guilty of murder. wanda cooper jones also said she believes her son was looking down on them when the decision came in, smiling then and smiling now, resting in peace. we also asked her what message she thinks the result of this trial sends to the world. >> i'm hoping that the verdict of guilty on all three defendants sends a message of accountability. i mean, you can't make better decisions and not be held accountable. >> what you think his sacrifice and life will do for other people maybe? >> i'm hoping that his sacrifice will -- it's going to implement change. he has already brought about the hate crime law in georgia, also the citizen's arrest law being repelled, so he has brought about change already. >> mother says she is ready for whatever is next in this case. likely sentencing in a few weeks and then

. >> joining us now to react to all of this is ahmaud arbery's mother, wanda cooper jones and arbery'snes, thank you so much for joining us. i'm so sorry for your loss. i can't imagine what it's like to sit there every day going through this. i wonder what you made of that defense attorney for one of the men on trial objecting to having high-profile members of the african-american community sit with your family during the trial. in his words to try to influence one of the jurors. but were you -- what do you think of that? i'm sorry, we're having audio problems. we'll try to fix that with you. mr. merritt, did this -- i mean, did this just come out of the blue here? >> it did come out of the blue. except it's coming from attorney for one of the defendants, william roddie bryan, who initially claimed he was just there to record. and he has been filing some bizarre motions. earlier on in the jury selection process he filed what he termed a bubba motion, meaning there were not enough bubbas, or white men in their 50s, uneducated, who more closely matched his defendant. so he's been doing b

he respected wanda cooper-jones early, arbery's mother. he is in close contact with her.end of yours. good to have you back with us today. there's been so much focus on these comments from the defense attorney, on the judge's reaction, which has been very clear and strong, at each moment. so i'm just curious, could you tell us in what instance would you imagine that a judge would rule that there would be any reason to keep people out of a courtroom, specifically members of the clergy or family members? >> there wouldn't be a reason unless someone was causing some massive disturbance. georgia has an open-court rule. anybody can go to court and watch a trial. i mean anyone. it's absolutely ridiculous and it's just an attempt by mr. goff to inject racism, in my opinion, into this case. >> wanda cooper-jones, ahmaud arbery's mother, has been there every day. she is right now presumably sitting through this testimony from the medical examiner, which has been very difficult. the attorneys, the defense attorneys, seem to be upset she got upset in that courtroom at one moment. br

. >>> ahmaud arbery's mother, wanda cooper jones, joins us now along with her attorney lee merritt. ith us tonight. i have heard defense lawyers, prosecutors over the last several hours say it was just out of line, what the defense attorney said about your son. the quote, long, dirty toenails. for you, as a mother, it prompted you to get up and leave the courtroom. what was going through your head? >> thanks for having me, as well. um, it was very, very disturbing. i thought it was very, very rude to talk about his long, dirty toenails and to totally neglect that my son had a huge hole in his chest where he was shot with that shotgun. she chose not to -- to recognize that -- that that gunshot wound -- actual his long toenails. >> why did you get up and go? >> i was faafraid that i was -- just was afraid. i sat there the last two weeks and let them dehumanize my son who wasn't doing anything wrong the day that he chose to go for that afternoon jog. and after, they go as far as describing his toenails long and dirty. despite, like i said earlier, that my son had a huge hole in his ches

at first as we continue to lament ahmaud's death, i want to extend my prayers to wanda cooper jones and marcus arbery sr. because i know that this is a very difficult day. but it is also as she said a day where she knows that her son is resting in peace. i think about almost ten years ago, a similar scenario with trayvon martin. and this is the moment that we have been waiting for. but more importantly, i believe although it is a moment, it could perhaps be a turning point because an important precedent has been set by this verdict. so yesterday was a critical moment in our nation. because in many ways we witnessed a moment of the defeat of white supremacy and breaking of a long practice, that white people especially white males cannot be held accountable. so now we see that they can be held accountable for taking the life of a black man. and what i want to say is i don't know if this is true, but it is probably the first time in the history of this nation and especially in the deep south when an all-white jury practically with a white male sitting judge, with a white female prosecutor

this is ahmaud arbery's mother wanda cooper-jones. >> i never thought this day would come, but god is good. i want to tell everybody, thank you. thank you for those who marched, those who prayed, most of all those who prayed. thank you, god. thank you. ahmaud will now rest in peace. amy: more on that verdict later in the broadcast with alicia garza. 27 people died drowning in the english channel last wednesday in what the international organization for migration said is the biggest loss of life to occur in the maritime crossing between the france and the u.k. since the u.n. agency started collecting data in 2014. three of the victims were children. vigils were held on both sides of the channel. >> we can say this happened because of smugglers but it is the responsibility of the deadly migration policies overall. we see this every day. what is happening is a policy of harassment and degrading, inhumane treatment of exiled persons. many were here in northern france. amy: the tragedy sparked tensions between france and britain, with the u.k. home secretary being shut out of a meeting amo

. >>> ahead on "cbs mornings," we'll speak with arbery's mother, wanda cooper jones, for her reaction to the verdicts and what she hopes her son's legacy will be. >>> people from around the globe are coming together to help the victims in that christmas parade tragedy in wisconsin. the "milwaukee journal sentinel" reports more than 6,300 donations from a dozen countries have been made to a community fund to help the victims' families in waukesha. it comes after six people died after a driver in an suv plowed into a parade on sunday. nfl star and wisconsin native j.j. watt said he will pay for the victims' funeral costs. after sunday's tragic incident, he tweeted that he was grateful to those who rushed and helped the wounded. >>> so coming up, the sweetest thing -- how u2's the edge want to help musicians still trying to recover from the pandemic. >>> and oh, deer. an unexpected visitor at a tennessee school. how this curious buck got trapped inside a classroom. >>> this is the "cbs morning news." > this is the "cbs mornin news." don't settle for products that give you a sort-of white

she says she's thankful justice was served wanda cooper-jones gather with family and friends in georgia. she says while she's thankful for that verdict. the murder convictions are not going to bring that person cooper jones also says the loss of her son leaves a huge hole in her family. not only does she lose a son but her children lost a sibling and our grandchildren lost an uncle. >> thank hope. it passes it. the first thanksgiving, they will happen. saying that we haleigh and justice for but again, i mean, heart still having that thanksgiving my babies. thank you. >> the man convicted burries death all face a mandatory sentence of life in prison. the judge will decide whether their sentences are served with without the possibility of parole. and amazing outpour of support for a man who was exonerated after being wrongfully convicted of murder serving 43 years in prison. a go fund me campaign for 62 year-old kevin strickland has raced just under 1 million dollars to help the newly free man start his new life more than 14,000 people have donated to the go fund me campaign. black friday

lee merritt is the attorney that represents wanda cooper jones, ahmaud arbery's mother.he attorney that represents william "roddie" bryan jr. went to the prosecution and asked them for some kind of a plea deal. and as you said, that plea deal was rejected. i got to say, the timing of that sounds really strange. pretty much the testimony is done in this trial. today they're going to go over the charging documents. so why you would think at that time you might have some leverage with the prosecution to work out a kind of deal for your client is hard to understand. but kevin gauff at times has been difficult to understand. so we wait to get some kind of word from him directly. we want to know is this really what happened. but as far as we are told, by lee merritt, that offer was made, it was rejected. the reason that lee merritt would know and wanda cooper jones would know is the state would probably consult with the victim's family on any issue when it comes to possible kind of arrangement on a plea deal. so, again, it was rejected, it is an 11th hour kind of plea deal, an

. >> shortly after the verdict, i spoke to ahmaud arbery's mother, wanda cooper jones, about the longight for justice she's been on. >> right now, as i sit here, i'm thankful that i didn't stop. back in 2020, when the murder first happened, it was 74 days without any arrest. and it was 74 days there was no legal representation. very, very dark days. but in the midst of those dark days, i still had faith that god will see us through. >> what, if anything, if you could talk to the mcmichaels or their families, might you say to them on this night? >> you guys are wanting to yell possibly forever. you took a lot from my family and i. we took a loss that can't be replaced. but at the same time, you guys have three generations of loss. your father, the son, and the grandchildren. so not only did my family lose, their family lost as well. >> is it possible to pray for the mcmichaels, do you think? >> yes, it is possible. because again, like i said earlier, my family took a loss, their family took a loss as well. >> where do you go from here, where should we go as a nation from here? >> as i

>> alex presha for us, thank you so much. >>> we are joined by ahmaud arbery's mom, wanda cooper-jonesttorney, lee merritt. good morning to both of you. miss cooper-jones, i know it's been an incredibly difficult time, a long agonizing wait, almost two years for you and here we are thanksgiving morning. can you put into words how you are feeling and what this verdict means for you and your family? >> today is thanksgiving and i'm really thankful. my family and i are thankful for the verdict we got yesterday. >> take us inside the courtroom. you were there every step of the way during this trial listening to those horrifying details, watching videos over and over again. and then yesterday when the verdict is read, can you describe that moment for us? >> when i heard the judge read the charges and immediately after every charge he said the first guilty, i said to myself, we finally got justice for ahmaud. we finally got this and i was very, very thankful, very excited, i mean, really no words to explain all the emotions that i was going through at that time. >> as we noted earlier there

wanda cooper prayed her out of the way. she's facing criminal charges herself. when she was looking for justice in glynn county, she was faced with a corrupt legal system, one that never fully investigated her son's murder as we learned during the course of this trial. wunder performed her own investigation. wanda hired her own attorneys as she woke up a nation. can you join me in giving a round of applause for this fighting, faithful, praying mother. i'm going to let wanda come forward. come on, wanda. speak i want to say thank you, guys. thank you. thank each and every one of you. who fought this fight with us. it's been a long fight. it's been a hard fight. but god is good. early in, to tell you the truth, i never saw this day back in 2020. i never thought this day would come. but god is good. i just want to tell everybody, thank you, thank you for those who marched, those who prayed. most of all the ones who prayed. thank you, thank you. you know him as ahmaud. he will rest in peace. >> thank you, lord. >> you all heard the gut wrenching grunt that came out

. >> reporter: arbery's mother, wanda cooper jones, was asked about mcmichael crying in court. her response: can you imagine the tears we have shed. cross-examination of mcmichael will continue tomorrow. norah. >> o'donnell: omar villafranca, thank you. now, we want to turn now t ad he u.s. capitol. republican congressman paul gosar of arizona became only the 24th member in the history the house of representatives to be sciencured. gosar earlier this month shocked his fellow lawmakers, posting a violent animated video targeting democrats. here's cbs' kris van cleave. >> will representative gosar present himself in the well? >> reporter: tonight, a historic rebuke on the house floor after controversial arizona congressman, republican paul gosar, posted an a video depicting himself flying through the air and killing democrat alexandra ocasio-cortez and then heading for president biden wielding two swords. >> representative paul gosar of arizona, be censured. >> reporter: gosar is now the first member of congress to be simultaneously sciencured and stripped of his committee post.

. >> reporter: wanda cooper jones sobbed in the courtroom today. >> look how far mr. arbery is. >> reporter: for the first time, she watched the video that showed her son, ahmaud arbery, being chased, shot, and killed. the now-infamous video was part of the prosecution's opening statements in the murder trial of travis and gregory mcmichael, and william "roddie" bryan. prosecutors say the mcmichaels assumed the worst when they spotted arbery walking out of an open construction site while jogging in the neighborhood. >> all three of these defendants did everything they did based on assumptions, and they made decisions in their driveways, based on those assumptions that took a young man's life. life. >> reporter: jurors also saw graphic body camera video from the day arbery was killed, recorded by a glynn county police officer. >> it's their duty and responsibility to each other to protect each other. >> reporter: defense attorneys explained their side, describing the mcmichaels as watching out for fellow residents after a series of break-in and burglaries in the neighb

arbery's mother wanda cooper jones says prosecutors told her their case is strong. >> they have lots and lots of evidence. they're really not satisfied with the jury that has been selected, but they're sure that the evidence will prevail. >> reporter: defense attorneys struck eleven of the twelve black jurors from the final pool which even raised eyebrows from the bring 150 *euding judge timothy walmsley. >> this court found there appears to be intentional discrimination in the panel. >> reporter: but the judge said he'll allow the current jury to proceed because, by state law, there were other valid reasons for why the jurors were dismissed. lee merritt is an attorney for the arbery family. >> there was a thumb put on the scales of justice by the defense to get a jury they thought would be more favorable for their clients. that's normal, but to use racial discrimination to do so, it shouldn't be allowed. >> reporter: investigators say arbery was out jogging in february of last year when he was chased down, shot and killed. the men said they thought arbery was a burglary suspect and

wanda cooper jones. father jumped up and cheered actually had to be admonished by the judge and asked to leave the courtroom after that outburst this entire time. the arbery family has been flanked by attorneys by pastors national civil rights leaders like the reverend al sharpton and jesse jackson. it is not clear when the defendants that make michaels and their neighbor. william roddie bryan will be sentenced, but we did see them leaving the court several hours ago in handcuffs. they were stone faced. they will also be facing civil rights charges hate crimes charges in a federal case that starts in february. back to you. >> all right. thank you for coming up here on kron, 4 news at 5, one bay area. food bank forking over time, every day to help keep our communities fed. then dry weather is pushing back the start of ski season. how one resort plans to attract c >> another shortage we could soon be facing here in california. need across the country is having enough energy to heat our homes this winter du

there was an audible gasp in the courtroom from the mother of ahmad arbery wanda cooper jones, the family later saying that this is justice for them it is unclear when those 3 defendants will be a sentence. we saw them being walked out of the courthouse several hours ago in handcuffs. stone faced they are also facing a federal hate crimes charge trial that is set to begin in february to you. evan, thank you for that. report. federal authorities have also charged 3 men with federal civil rights and hate crime violations. they are expected to head to court in february to face those charges. our law expert defense attorney paula canny explains that the men might not receive their full sentencing until after the hate crimes trial is completed. >> i'm not sure if they'll be tried in the federal case before their sentence in this case or afterwards, but they have a whole other trial to look forward to for these federal hate crimes and civil rights violations. i'm sure they'll get conviction. of of those crimes. obviously based on what this jury did hear it. >> at the time of arbery's death. geo

. >>> joining us now is wanda cooper jones, who of course is ahmaud arbery's mother, and the arbery familyood to see you, counselor. ma'am, nice to see you. >> hi. nice to meet you as well. >> ms. cooper jones, what did it mean to you, and why did you decide to want to watch the video in the courtroom of what happened to your son? >> simply because i didn't think i had the mental capacity to take it. but i also wondered what happened to ahmaud the last minutes of his life. i avoided the video because i didn't think i can take it. but then when the trial started, i knew it was time for me to try to get familiar with it because i was going to see it over and over again. >> when you did see it and to the extent that you could process what you were seeing emotionally, what did it mean to you? >> it was very disturbing. it was very heartbreaking knowing that ahmaud had, like i said, from the very beginning that he ran, i didn't realize he had ran so long. but hearing the testimony from the last couple days, you know, it's just -- it's reassuring that ahmaud actually ran for his life. >> and wha

. >> reporter: arbery's mother, wanda cooper-jones, was asked about mcmichael crying in court. "can you imagine the tears we have shed?" cross-examination of mcmichael will continue tomorrow. norah? >> omar villafranca, thank you. >>> we want to turn now to a dramtic and historic day at the u.s. capitol. republican congressman paul gosar of arizona became only the 24th member in the history of the house of representatives to be censured. gosar earlier this month shocked his fellow lawmakers, posting a violent animated video targeting democrats. here's cbs's kris van cleave. >> will representative gosar present himself in the well. >> reporter: tonight a historic rebuke on the house floor after controversial arizona congressman republican paul gosar posted an anime video depicting himself flying through the air and killing democrat alexandria ocasio-cortez and then heading for president biden wielding two swords. >> representative paul gosar of arizona be censured. >> reporter: gosar is now the first member of congress to be simultaneously censured and stripped of his committee

arbery's mother, wanda cooper jones says prosecutors told her their case is strong. >> they have lots lots of evidence. they're really not satisfied with the jury that has been selected, but they're sure that the evidence will prevail. >> reporter: defense attorneys struck 11 of the 12 black jurors from the final pool, which even raised eyebrows with the presiding judge, timothy walmsley. >> this court has found that there appears to be intentional discrimination in the panel. >> reporter: but the judge said he'll allow the current jury to proceed because by state law, there were other valid reasons for why the jurors were dismissed. lee merritt is an attorney for the arbery family. >> there was a thumb put on the scales of justice by the defense to get a jury they thought would be more favorable for their clients. that's normal. but to use racial discrimination to do so, it shouldn't be allowed. >> reporter: investigators say arbery was out jogging in february of last year when he was chased down, shot, and killed. the men said they thought arbery was a burglary suspect and shot him

leaders of faith, and one of those who spoke to the gathered crowd was ahmaud arbery's mother, wanda cooper-jones, and she talked about that very difficult time in her life after her son was killed, and yet it appeared little was being done to investigate. here's her words. >> when ahmaud was killed on the 23rd of february, the family had some of the darkest times of our lives. we asked questions, we got no answers. we submitted e-mails with no reply back. but in the midst of all that, i prayed. i asked the lord to somehow tell me what happened to the case. weeks later my daughter said, mom, we don't even have an attorney. i said, when the lord thinks it's right for us to get an attorney, we'll get one. not until then. i just want to say thank you. my heart is full of just joy in the midst of this broken heart. >> reporter: travis mcmichael, who is the man who killed her son, ahmaud arbery, he was on the witness stand again today, this time for a very harsh cross examination by the prosecution, and they went over two key factors that had been pillars of the defense. number one, he admitted his fa

ahmaud arbery's mother, wanda cooper jones, crying when she saw the full video of her son's shootingy on the ground. joining me now to discuss, criminal defense attorney paige pate. paige, thank you for joining us. wow. it's -- i can't even imagine. i don't think any of us can imagine. i appreciate you helping us out with this. the prosecution, though, laying out their case today outlining what led up to the shooting and why arbery was running away from the defendants. listen. >> how do you know mr. ahmaud arbery was under attack by strangers with intent to kill him? because greg mcmichael told the police this. stop or i'll blow your [ bleep ] head off. that's what he said to mr. arbery knew because he wanted to make sure mr. arbery knew greg mcmichael was not playing. >> so the defense is arguing that the defendants thought they were protecting their neighborhood and acting in self-defense. which side made the better argument today, do you think? >> well, don, i will have to admit that i think both sides started out with very strong opening statements. i mean, we knew coming into th

finally repealed that civil war era slave catching law this past may, ahmaud arbery's mother, wanda cooper-jones, made the significance of that repeal crystal clear. she said, quote, unfortunately, we had to lose my son in this matter. had this bill been in place, i think it would protect young men jogging down the street. her son was not protected in february of 2020. those three men gunned him down in brunswick, georgia, and killed him in cold blood. those three men have been on trial for more than two weeks on charges of felony murder, aggravated assault, and false imprisonment. they claimed they had the right to chase and detain ahmaud arbery because of that citizen's arrest law, and they claimed that mr. arbery was shot in an act of self-defense. the prosecutors argued their actions didn't meet the standards of that law, and the defendants attacked ahmaud arbery because he was "a black man running down the street." today, after ten hours of deliberation, the jury reached a verdict. they found all three men guilty of felony murder and false imprisonment.ou they found travis mcmichael, the ma

as the judge read the convictions, wanda cooper jones, listened from the gallery in tears. outside, they were emotional about the decision. the three defendants said they were trying to mack a citizens arrest, claiming they believed arbery was behind a series of burglaries after seeing a video of him trespassing at a construction site home weeks before the shooting. meantime, the arbery family shared their gratitude with a crowd of spaursers. >> i just want to say thank you, guys. thank you. thank each and every one of you who fought this fight with us. it's been a long fight. it's been a hard fight. you know him as ahmaud. i know him as quez. he will now rest in peace. >> lead prosecutor linda dunikowski had her chance to speak. . >> the verdict today was based on the facts, the evidence. that was our goal to bring that to the jury so they could do the right thing. >> she told her jury in the closing the defense claims of a citizens arrest were invalid because they had not witnessed a crime and said they couldn't claim self-defense because they instigated the confrontation