George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watchman acquitted of murder in the 2012 death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, has filed suit against Martin’s family and others involved in the case.
Zimmerman’s lawsuit alleges that the charges of second-degree murder and manslaughter lodged against him after he fatally shot the teen were based on false evidence, according to the Miami Herald. Zimmerman said that he acted in self-defense after Martin attacked him, and Zimmerman was acquitted in 2013. Zimmerman is suing for $100 million in civil damages.
Larry Klayman, a high-profile lawyer who often takes right-wing causes in litigation, is representing Zimmerman. The lawsuit alleges that Martin’s family and trial prosecutors used false evidence to defame Zimmerman and abuse his civil rights.
Zimmerman, who was 28 at the time of Martin’s death, also names the book publisher Harper Collins in his suit for publishing the book Open Season: Legalized Genocide of Colored People written by the attorney Ben Crump, who represented the Martin family in the trial. Harper Collins released the book in October.
Martin’s mother, Sybrina Fulton, is the lead defendant in the lawsuit. Fulton has recently jumped into politics and is running for a seat on the Miami-Dade County Commission.
On the night of Feb. 26, 2012, in Sanford, Florida, Martin was walking back to his father’s apartment after a trip to a local 7-11 when Zimmerman, then 28, spotted the teen. Zimmerman called 911 and reported a “suspicious” character walking around his Sanford neighborhood. The two got into a scuffle that ended after Zimmerman shot Martin.
National news picked up on the incident, and it became a flashpoint for racial tension over months of coverage. Rev. Al Sharpton and the NAACP led marches alongside Martin’s parents. Black leaders criticized then-President Barack Obama for not immediately speaking out until Obama offered, “If I had a son, he’d look like Trayvon.”
The prosecution floated racial profiling as a probable cause in its affidavit despite Zimmerman being half-Hispanic and having a black great-grandfather. The judge in the trial effectively barred any questions or accusations of racial profiling. After Zimmerman’s acquittal, Obama’s Justice Department considered bringing civil rights charges against Zimmerman but dropped the case in 2015 because of insufficient evidence.
