Greg and Travis McMichael:   
Hear Their Side

The Worst Day of Our Lives

February 23, 2020 started out normally, but before day’s end, Ahmaud’s family and my family would be indelibly entwined for eternity. What began as a beautiful and glorious spring-like day ended with a profound tragedy…. Ahmaud was dead, and his family was left without answers and grieving. It was also day one of what is now over 700 consecutive days of my husband, son and family being declared racist murderers.

It started as a typical Sunday around the McMichael home. Travis’s then three-year-old son was visiting for the weekend, and the entire family smothered him with love during his time with Travis. The weather was magnificent, a cloudless day with a near-perfect temperature of just under 70 degrees.

Greg had retired months earlier after an exemplary 30-year law-enforcement career. Today he was re-upholstering boat cushions. Travis and my only grandson ran to Home Depot and bought grass seed and came back to spread it before coming inside for lunch. His son, a typical bundle of energy for a child that age, had been up since the crack of dawn, and as any parent can attest, a nap was needed if he was going to finish the day in a happy mood. It was at or near 1:00 pm and I had taken a break from cleaning and cooking and planned to watch a movie with our daughter Lindsay.

Travis had settled in the recliner while coaxing his son to take a nap, when Greg came running through the kitchen door and shouted at Travis. "That guy that was in the house the other night just ran by here and he had it hooked up. He was hauling ass!” We all were immediately aware of what Greg was referring to.

Just days earlier, on February 11, Travis had left the house after dark to gas up his car. He worked at Kingsland’s Naval Base, and most mornings he left the house around 4:00 a.m. and generally gassed up the evening before work since his day began so early. On that evening, Travis encountered a man we now know to be Ahmaud skulking around outside Larry English’s home, which had been under construction for some time. Most of the neighborhood was aware that an unidentified African-American man had been seen on security video on the English property on several occasions dating back to late in October 2019. Several security videos had been circulated among neighbors, and a few were posted on a private Facebook page designed for the Satilla Shores neighborhood. There had been several posts about the man trespassing on the English property, and English had told neighbors that expensive gear was taken from a boat stored on the property. At least one single mom in our neighborhood reported that her children had encountered the man, and he frightened them sufficiently that they refused to play basketball in their driveway after dark.

Travis’s encounter with Ahmaud on February 11 was the direct catalyst behind Greg and Travis’s decision to take weapons when they left home to try and detain Ahmaud for police on February 23. Instead of my trying to explain it, please listen to Travis’ call to 911 after encountering Ahmaud on the English property after dark eleven days earlier.

Did you hear Travis tell the dispatcher to warn responding officers the man we now know was Ahmaud may be armed? Did you hear the stress and angst in Travis’s voice during the call? No wonder Greg and Travis armed themselves when they set out to try and detain Ahmaud so police could arrive and take over. It is so important for people to know that my guys' sole intent was to safely detain Ahmaud long enough for the police to arrive and take over. Monday-morning quarterbacks have been relentless in judging Greg and Travis, and that’s their right. But I believe there are many who are thankful for men like them, who are loyal and dependable friends and neighbors.

So yes, Greg and Travis left home with their guns on that sunny Sunday afternoon. I don’t know how long it was, but minutes passed before I heard what I thought were two gunshots. I later learned that three shots had been fired. My grandson was playing in the floor by now, and my daughter stopped me as I got up to head outside and check on things. Instead, I went to the front window and saw the police and a lot of activity at the corner. I was unable to see Travis or Greg, and I was first paralyzed with fear, which was soon followed by physical illness.

It seemed like an eternity, but my daughter brought me my phone and said Greg was calling. He said they were okay and explained that a guy had attacked Travis and was shot while trying to take Travis’s shotgun. Greg said the attacker was dead and reiterated that Travis had no choice but to defend himself. Greg told me not to come outside to the scene since he didn’t want me to see what happened.

I was in a fog for the remainder of the day. I recall pacing around and vomiting a few times while trying to keep my grandson occupied. I remember Lindsay got a change of clothes for Travis, and she said that Travis and Greg were going to the Glynn County Police Department. I remember Travis and Greg coming home that night, but little was said. We were all in shock and despair.

Our life dramatically changed from that day forward. Greg struggled with knowing that he had brought his son out that day, and he was clearly depressed watching Travis suffer deep emotional pain.

Travis paced constantly, stopped eating, and slept little. He sought help and was told he had PTSD. He prayed for Ahmaud’s family and grieved for their loss. He’d often tell me that he did not want this to happen, and he could not imagine what Ahmaud’s family suffered through.

I saw my son’s pain. Travis treasures life and would never rejoice over such a tragic event. He has saved several lives in his lifetime, and the death of Ahmaud has weighed heavily on his heart. Here is a letter that describes just one of several heroic life-saving acts that Travis has played a part in.

Greg and Travis did not leave home to chase a random “Black man” as the media wants you to believe. They went after a man who had been seen trespassing on private property at all hours of the night, frightened neighborhood children, and caused concern for people in Satilla Shores for months on end. We now know this man was Ahmaud, a convicted felon who suffered from Schizoaffective Disorder, which by his own admission caused auditory hallucinations that sometimes told him to rob and hurt people. (To learn more about this illness, read the attached "Facts about Schizoaffective Disorder.")

In the following weeks, I’ll be updating this website with facts and other information, including photos, videos and other evidence that has been marginalized at best and suppressed at worse by global media outlets, government prosecutors and groups and organizations with agendas that have nothing to do with this case.

Until then, I ask that you please consider donating to the Greg and Travis McMichael Defense Fund found at  https://givesendgo.com/McMichaeldefense.

If you’d like more information, please email us at info@mcmichaeltrial.com