A judge won't change the racial makeup of the jury in the trial of those accused of murdering Ahmaud Arbery, which includes one Black juror

• A judge denied a motion to change the racial makeup of the jury in the trial of those accused of murdering Ahmaud Arbery.
• The final panel of 12 includes 11 white jurors and one Black juror, along with four alternates.

A judge denied a motion to change the racial makeup of the jury in the murder trial of three men accused of killing Ahmaud Arbery, a Black man who was shot in 2020, the Associated Press reported Wednesday.

Three white men - Gregory McMichael, 65, a former police officer; his son, Travis McMichael, 35; and their neighbor, William "Roddie" Bryan, 52 - are standing trial in the shooting death of Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man.

In February 2020, Arbery was chased and gunned down after he went for a jog in his Georgia neighborhood. The elder McMichael told police that he pursued Arbery because he resembled a man believed to be responsible for a string of local break-ins. However, there was only one break-in reported in the area from the beginning of the year to the day Arbery was shot.

A video of the encounter taken by Bryan went viral in May 2020. The McMichaels were arrested on May 7 on charges of felony murder and aggravated assault. Bryan was also arrested on May 21 on a felony murder charge. All three men pleaded not guilty to the federal hate crime charges earlier this year.

Arbery's death was one of a number of deadly encounters that sparked a series of Black Lives Matter protests last summer.

Earlier Wednesday, prosecutors asked Superior Court Judge Timothy Walmsley to reinstate eight Black potential jurors after jury selection left just one Black person and 11 white people on the final panel of 12. Prosecutor Linda Dunikoski argued that defense attorneys decided to strike eight specific potential Black jurors because of their race, according to the AP.

Laura Hogue, an attorney for Greg McMichael, denied the accusation, saying, "We have a very clear selection process within the defense team, and the issue of race is not one of the factors."

"I can give you a race neutral reason for any one of these," Hogue said.

Walmsley denied the motion, saying defense attorneys "have been able to explain to the court why, besides race," other prospective jurors "were struck from the panel," but he added that the court "has found there appears to be intentional discrimination in the panel," according to the AP report.

The jury, along with four alternates, will be sworn in on Friday.