George Zimmerman, who was acquitted in the death of Trayvon Martin, defended himself, saying he was surprised people were incited against him and thought he was a bigot.
“I am the last person who ever expected to be accused of being a bigot,” Zimmerman said in a Thursday article in the American Thinker. “I am Hispanic. My mother is from Peru. I speak fluent Spanish. I was an Obama supporter and a social activist. Just a year earlier, I had led a community-wide effort to get justice for Sherman Ware, a homeless black man who had been attacked by the son of a white police officer. I was also active in a mentoring program where I spent my spare time (and money) with black teens whose parents were in prison.”
Zimmerman said he plans on bringing the country back together after the shooting of Martin, which polarized the country. “I have now taken up the cause of bringing America back together again, and I intend to do it by revealing how the country was deceived. I feel that if I can expose and hold accountable those at the origin of this evil witness fraud, the healing can begin,” he said.
Zimmerman is suing Martin’s family and others for $100 million in civil damages. The lawsuit alleges that the defendants used false evidence in an attempt to defame Zimmerman.
Martin was killed on Feb. 26, 2012, by Zimmerman. The pair got in a fight, which ended with Zimmerman shooting Martin. The story was run by national media and became a polarizing story with months of coverage. Zimmerman was eventually acquitted from murder charges.
