George Zimmerman, the Florida man who was acquitted in the 2012 shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, is suing Trayvon’s family, the lawyer who represented him and others, claiming false evidence was used in the case.
Trayvon, who was unarmed, had bought candy and was walking to the apartment of his father’s fiancee in Sanford, Florida when he encountered Zimmerman. Zimmerman was armed and volunteering on neighborhood watch patrol in the gated community.
Trayvon looked suspicious to Zimmerman, who approached the teen. There was a struggle and Trayvon was shot and killed. Zimmerman claimed self-defense and used the Stand Your Ground defense in his 2013 trial.
Although he was acquitted of homicide, Zimmerman claims the prosecution was built on evidence and a timeline provided by a friend of the teen who was on the phone with him when Zimmerman confronted Trayvon, Miami Herald reported.
“It’s disgusting and unacceptable that George Zimmerman not only walks free but is now trying to sue grieving parents of the child HE murdered,” Black Lives Matter tweeted. “This is why we will NEVER be silent and continue to fight for liberation and justice.”
The lawsuit goes after Trayvon’s mother, father, others associated with Trayvon and his case, the state of Florida, Martin family lawyer Benjamin Crump, and HarperCollins Publishers, which released Crump’s book, “Open Season: Legalized Genocide of Colored People.” The suit claims one of the witnesses against Zimmerman misrepresented herself—and Crump and the Martin family knew that.
“We the people must stand up for justice,” a Twitter user responded, “attacked by this monster Zimmermann who continues do evil on the Trayvon Martin family.”
Zimmerman is being represented by Larry Klayman, a high-profile, right-wing legal crusader who founded Judicial Watch, a conservative activist group that files Freedom of Information Act lawsuits mainly targeting Democrats and the Obama and Clinton presidencies.
Klayman supported the anti-Obama “birther” movement and claimed the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing was ordered by Saddam Hussein. Earlier this year, a D.C. legal ethics panel recommended barring Klayman from practicing law for 33 months over a complaint by a former client who accused Klayman of exploiting her financially when she refused his advances. Klayman said he planned to appeal, according to the Daily Beast.
The lawsuit, filed in Polk County where Zimmerman lives, cites information in a documentary about the case titled “The Trayvon Hoax”. The film accuses the Martin family of engineering false testimony. Its director distributed a copy of the lawsuit to media on Wednesday and had planned a press conference this week to coincide with a film screening scheduled in Coral Gables. However the screening has been canceled, according to the Miami Herald.
Zimmerman’s lawsuit seeks $100 million in civil damages for alleged defamation, conspiracy and abuse of civil process. It states that all defendants “have worked in concert to deprive Zimmerman of his constitutional and other legal rights.”
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Trayvon’s mother, Sybrina Fulton, is the main defendant in the suit. She’s running for the District 1 seat on the Miami-Dade County Commission in the Miami Gardens area. In the wake of her son’s death, Fulton advocated for social justice and reducing gun deaths. She was a campaign surrogate for Hillary Clinton. Trayvon’s parents have written a book in tribute to their son and started a foundation in his name.
Zimmerman, meanwhile, “seems to get arrested every couple of years, bouncing back onto the headlines — like he just did Wednesday,” according to a Miami Herald editorial. He has been arrested for domestic violence, road rage incidents, stalking and a gun scuffle.
“It is both disgusting and shameful that George Zimmerman, a man who killed an unarmed child and got away with it, is now suing Trayvon Martin’s grieving parents,” said Pamela Goodman, president of Ruth’s List Florida, a political organization backing Fulton’s campaign for commissioner.
Details of what happened the night Trayvon was shot are still disputed. Zimmerman claims self-defense but police and prosecutors described an unjustified shooting of a teen in a hoodie with Skittles and a drink.
And now Zimmerman wants to go back to court, this time for big money — and likely to create his brand of reality about the case.
Miami Herald reported.
