BRUNSWICK, Ga. — The trial of Jackie Johnson, the former Brunswick district attorney who is accused of obstructing the investigation into the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, continued Friday with testimony from other attorneys with direct ties to the case.

Johnson recused herself from the case the day of the shooting and is accused of using her position to prevent the arrest of the men who were eventually convicted of murdering Arbery. Greg McMichael worked for Johnson and was eventually convicted in Arbery’s murder, along with his son Travis McMichael and William “Roddie” Bryan.

Arbery was shot on Feb. 23, 2020; none of the three men were arrested until May 7, 2020. 

There are two men named George Barnhill who are critical to this case, and they both took the witness stand on Friday.

The men are father and son, the younger George Barnhill worked for Johnson in the Brunswick district attorney’s office; the older George Barnhill was the Waycross district attorney and took over the case after Johnson recused herself.

Now-retired Waycross District Attorney George Barnhill took the witness stand and said he took over the case regarding Arbery’s death the day of the shooting, after a phone call with Johnson, who told Barnhill that she had a conflict. He said the only thing she told him was that Greg McMichael was involved and to speak with the police.

Barnhill said that when he met with the Glynn County Police Department the day after the shooting, GCPD showed him evidence in the case and informed him that they did not arrest anyone involved in Arbery’s death.

“They had senior staff and they had people with years of experience, and they were going to have their opinion,” Barnhill said.

Another criticism of Barnhill was that he was withholding information about the case, but he said there was a simple explanation for not making evidence public while the case was still open. “I was not hiding information just because I was not sharing information with the news media, a prosecutor does not try his case in the media.”

One of the consistent criticisms of the investigation into Arbery’s death was that there was a coordinated effort by Johnson to interfere with the investigation to protect the McMichaels.

Here’s a portion of Barnhill’s testimony during cross examination with the defense regarding his interactions with Johnson in the hours and days after Arbery was killed.

“She did not tell you to go over to Glynn County and make sure that Greg McMichael is ok, she didn’t say that,” the defense prompted Barnhill on the stand. 

He replied, “Correct, absolutely not.”

“She did not say, this is what I want you to tell the Glynn County Police when you get over there, she didn’t say that.”

“She did not give you any instruction, have any expectation, didn’t want you to do anything in particular other than answer the questions because she could not or her office could not, is that true?”

“That is true, just to go meet with them,” Barnhill said. 

He was on the witness stand for nearly 3 hours and continually stated that his actions while he was overseeing the case were entirely his own.

“Were you some sort of covert, Manchurian Candidate for Ms. Johnson, doing her bidding or were you acting independently once she was off the case?” the defense asked.

“I was acting independently,” Barnhill said.

Barnhill said that he eventually recused himself from the Arbery case due to increased threats against his office and his family, including his son with a very similar name who worked in the Brunswick district attorney’s office.

The trial will continue Monday morning.