WHITE AS A KKK PICNIC [all by coincidence, all the time]. From [HERE] A defense attorney in the trial for the killing of Ahmaud Arbery took issue Thursday with the courtroom presence of the Rev. Al Sharpton, a nationally known civil rights leader, saying it was “intimidating” to bring in “high-profile members of the African American community.”

“We don’t want any more Black pastors coming in here” to sit with Arbery’s family, Kevin Gough said, saying it amounted to an attempt to influence the jury. He later seemed to launch into a comparison, saying, “If a bunch of folks came in here dressed like Colonel Sanders with white masks sitting in the back, that would be — "

The judge cut him off.

Judge Timothy Walmsley dismissed Gough’s complaint, saying that Sharpton did not cause a disruption and that he would not exclude respectful members of the public.

“Let’s not overstate what’s going on here, Mr. Gough,” Walmsley said.

Race has been at the center of public discussion about the case, in which three White men have been charged with murder for the February 2020 death of Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man. Defense attorneys have pushed back on characterizations of their clients as racist vigilantes who hunted down Arbery, saying they were concerned citizens who wanted to help neighbors rattled by break-ins and thefts. They are seeking to show that the defendants had grounds to conduct a “citizen’s arrest.”

Concerns about race were further amplified during jury selection for the trial, which resulted in one Black man and 11 White people selected to hear the case.

Appearing in court Friday after his “Black pastor” objection drew criticism, Gough offered his “apologies to anyone who might have inadvertently been offended.” He said that if his statements earlier were “overly broad," he would follow up with a more specific request putting his concerns into “proper context.”

Sharpton said he attended the trial on Wednesday at the invitation of Arbery’s parents and conducted a prayer vigil with them outside of the courthouse in Brunswick, Ga.

“The arrogant insensitivity of attorney Kevin Gough in asking a judge to bar me or any minister of the family’s choice underscores the disregard for the value of the human life lost and the grieving of a family in need [of]spiritual and community support,” Sharpton said in the statement. “This is pouring salt into their wounds.”

In a further rebuke Friday, Sharpton called for “clergy across ecumenical lines” to meet him next Thursday outside Glynn County courthouse, along with Arbery’s parents and their lawyers.

Wanda Cooper-Jones, Arbery’s mother, called Gough’s objections “disturbing” in an interview with The Post. “When I heard defense attorney Gough say that, it was unreal,” she said. “But sitting in the courtroom day after day, the things that I hear are just unreal as well. So nothing surprises me.” [MORE]