George Zimmerman, the former Florida neighborhood watchman who was acquitted of murderign 17-year-old Trayvon Martin seven years ago is suing the deceased teen’s family and others who were involved in the racially charged case that divided the nation for $100 million.
Zimmerman claims in a lawsuit filed by his attorney that the case against him rested on false evidence and is alleging abuse of civil process and conspiracy.
Details below…
Zimmerman fatally shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in a 2012 case that sparked a national debate over racial profiling and gun laws. The teen was unarmed when Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer, reported him as “suspicious” as he walked through a gated community where Martin was visiting family in Sanford, Florida.
Zimmerman claimed he acted in self defense when he shot and killed Martin and was later acquitted of murder and manslaughter charges.
He is now being represented by Larry Klayman, a right-wing lawyer who supported the anti-Obama “birther” movement, in suing Martin’s family and associates for $100 million, based on claims from a discredited documentarian.
The lawsuit targets Martin’s mother, father, various people associated with Martin and his case, the state of Florida, the Martin family’s lawyer Benjamin Crump, and HarperCollins Publishers, which released Crump’s book on the killing of minorities this year.
According to the Miami Herald, Zimmerman’s lawsuit accuses each party of engineering false testimony and alleges defamation, abuse of civil process, and conspiracy.
Specifically, the suit contends that the prosecution’s key witness at his 2013 murder trial, was an “imposter and fake witness.” There are claims that the witness, Rachel Jeantel, wasn’t actually the woman on the phone with Travon at the time of his death.
Based on Trayvon’s cell phone records, they allegedly show that Rachel Jeantel was not Trayvon’s girlfriend, was not on the phone with Trayvon before the altercation, and that she lied repeatedly to cause Zimmerman’s arrest and to try to send him to prison for life. The research also allegedly reveals that Trayvon’s real girlfriend and legitimate phone witness was in fact Miami resident Brittany Diamond Eugene, who was switched out for Jeantel when Eugene refused to bear false witness against Zimmerman.
Zimmerman’s shot in the dark, neglects to mention that he literally targeted, stalked, and ultimately shot a child to death despite who was on the other end of the line… but I digress.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that the ex-neighborhood watchman has escaped jail on more than one occasion.
In 2013, Zimmerman was arrested and charged with felony aggravated assault for allegedly pointing a shotgun at his girlfriend, though the case was later dropped. Two years later, he was arrested again — this time for charges of domestic aggravated assault for allegedly throwing a bottle of wine at his girlfriend. Those charges were also dropped.
Most recently, Zimmerman was arrested in 2018 on charges he cyberstalked and harassed a private investigator working with film producer Michael Gasparro and Jay-Z on a documentary series about Trayvon Martin. The private investigator told deputies that Zimmerman called him 21 times, sent him 38 text messages and left him seven voicemails, all within two and a half hours.
For the record, attorney Benjamin Crump, who is also named in Zimmerman’s suit for representing Martin’s parents, Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin, has released a statement that dismisses the lawsuit as “another failed attempt to defend the indefensible and a shameless attempt to profit off the lives and grief of others.”
“This plaintiff continues to display a callous disregard for everyone but himself, revictimizing individuals whose lives were shattered by his own misguided actions,” the statement said.
“He would have us believe that he is the innocent victim of a deep conspiracy, despite the complete lack of any credible evidence to support his outlandish claims. This tale defies all logic, and it’s time to close the door on these baseless imaginings.”