Kevin Gough, the attorney for William Bryan -- the man who recorded the deadly shooting of Ahmaud Arbery -- called a news conference Tuesday night at his home in Georgia, then changed his mind. He then planned to make a statement at noon Thursday but called about an hour before it was set to happen.
It’s unclear exactly what he planned to address.
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Controversy and calls for justice that have surrounded Arbery’s death grew louder after the video was released. Despite accusations to the contrary, the man who took the video -- Bryan -- was just a bystander and a “pawn in a much larger game,” Gough said Monday.
"I would like to say, first of all, I am very sorry to the family," Bryan said. "I pray for them every night as well as my own family."
The community has raised conspiracy theories about Bryan's relationship to the incident, Gough said, and made him a victim of misinformation.
"He wasn't with the McMichaels at all, and he has no relationship with the McMichaels," the lawyer said, refuting Greg McMichaels' account to police that Bryan was helping them attempt to head off Arbery.
When asked why Bryan didn't call 911, Gough didn't have an immediate response other than to note that police "sirens were audible almost immediately." Plus, he said, it was clear to everyone involved that police were en route.
Travis McMichael, 34, and his father, Gregory McMichael, 64 -- were arrested Thursday and face charges of murder and aggravated assault in Arbery’s killing on February 23, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.