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In July 2013, a jury acquitted George Zimmerman of any wrongdoing in the fatal shooting of unarmed black man Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida. Martin and Zimmerman crossed paths in a gated community in South Florida, where George worked as a crime-watch volunteer. Against the advice of a 911 operator, George followed Trayvon into the compound because he looked suspicious.

An altercation between Trayvon and George ensued in which Zimmerman fatally shot the 17-year-old. Zimmermans acquittal sparked outrage across the country and partially contributed to the start of the Black Lives Matter movement.

George Zimmerman cant outrun the Trayvon Martin shooting simply because he doesnt want to. Zimmerman claims that the media wont let him live a normal life, yet hes the one that keeps resurrecting the case. George toldThe Daily Beast:

If I have to live my life and if I have to go about my business as a normal person, then I would do that. However, Im not afforded that luxury anymore. You guys. The media. The masses. The Fulton-Martin family. They took that from me.

In a canceled November 2021 gathering dubbed the Lethal Force Gun Laws 2021 Tactics & Strategies Conference, Zimmerman was due to give a step-by-step narrative of the events that led to Trayvons shooting.

The organizers had booked The Riverside Hotel in Boise for a weekend, but the hotelier canceled the event after learning that George would speak. A statement by the Garden City hotels ownership group said:

We recognize the immense pain that George Zimmerman has inflicted on many of our guests, team-members and community. With their respect and safety as our priority, we have canceled the event. We are unequivocally opposed to providing George Zimmerman a platform and he is not welcome at The Riverside Hotel.

George seems intent on earning from the infamous case. In December 2019, he filed a $100 million suit against Trayvons family, their lawyer, and prosecutors. He demanded payment for malicious prosecution by prosecutors and defamation by Trayvons family and their attorney, Benjamin Crump.

I have every confidence that this unfounded and reckless lawsuit will be revealed for what it is, another failed attempt the defend the indefensible and a shameless attempt to profit off the lives and grief of others,said a statement by Crump.

In February 2020, George filed a suit against politicians Pete Buttigieg and Elizabeth Warren for allegedly defaming him on Twitter. Pete and Warren tweeted against gun violence, but they didnt mention Zimmerman by name.

Nevertheless, George claimed that the duo defamed him because the name George Zimmerman is 100% synonymous with the incident that resulted in the death of Trayvon Martin. In this case, Zimmerman asked the court to grant $265 million in damages.

Zimmerman tried to adopt a private life in the months after his acquittal. However, a domestic violence accusation by his girlfriend brought him back to the limelight.

A public altercation with a motorist a year later gave George Zimmerman another spell in the headlines. George welcomed the attention as it gave him a platform to auction American flag paintings on eBay.

He tried to remain relevant by insulting President Obama and retweeting photos of Trayvons dead body. Zimmerman then marketed his gun as an American Firearm icon as a symbol of American patriotism.

The firearm sold for $138,900 to an anonymous buyer. Zimmermans actions attracted criticism, but he defended himself by blaming Trayvons parents for alleged poor parenting. George toldThe Daily Beast:

Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin did everything they could to capitalize on her sons death. She was never a mother figure to him. Tracy Martin couldnt have cared less about their son. He treated him like a dog without a leash.

Zimmerman alleged that he prayed on the matter before deciding to auction the gun. Leonard Pitts of theMiami Heraldviewed Georges actions as extremely distasteful:

The marketing of the gun that killed him by the man who pulled the trigger does not feel like simply another example of flagrantly bad taste. No, it feels like a victory lap on a dead boys grave. So when this thing is sold it really wont matter who writes the check. We all will pay the price.

To Zimmerman, the worst thing to come out of Trayvons shooting was the Black Lives Matter movement. He believes that the actual victims arent Black people but the men and women in blue.

George said hed be willing to make any officer combating BLM protests richer than they ever dreamed of being. He added:

I would take that money and I would make sure that every law enforcement officer and every single civilian who is affected by the Black Lives Matter fraudulent, violent campaign those officers, those civilians, their entire families were made wealthy beyond their wildest imaginations.

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Where is George Zimmerman now in 2022? He remains ... - TheNetline

MIAMI (CBSMiami/AP) - With the arrest of George Zimmerman, some some of the confusing aspects of the are starting to come into sharper focus. With charges, the legal system begins or organize what happens next, but as that happens, it's important to understand what got George Zimmerman and prosecutors to this point.

With the help of the Associated Press, here's a look at the basics of the case, along with answers to some frequently asked questions.

Second-degree murder means a killing that was not premeditated but resulted instead from an "imminently dangerous act" that showed a "depraved" lack of regard for human life.

THE PROSECUTOR'S CHALLENGE:

Under Florida's "stand your ground" law, which gives people wide latitude to use deadly force rather than retreat during a fight, Corey must first prove to a judge that Zimmerman wasn't defending himself when he killed Trayvon Martin. Only then can she take the case to a jury, in front of which she will face a high legal burden to prove that the killing wasn't in self-defense.

--Trayvon's father, Tracy Martin, of Zimmerman: "The question I would really like to ask him is, if he could look into Trayvon's eyes and see how innocent he was, would he have then pulled the trigger? Or would he have just let him go on home?"

--Zimmerman's new lawyer, Mark O'Mara: "He is troubled by everything that has happened. I cannot imagine living in George Zimmerman's shoes for the past number of weeks. Because he has been at the focus of a lot of anger, and maybe confusion and maybe some hatred and that has to be difficult. ... I'm expecting a lot of work and hopefully justice in the end."

--O'Mara on Zimmerman: "I'm not concerned about his mental well-being."

--Special prosecutor Angela Corey: "We do not prosecute by public pressure or by petition."

--Stacy Davis, who is black, reacting to Zimmerman's arrest: "It's not a black or white thing for me. It's a right or wrong thing. He needed to be arrested. I'm happy because maybe that boy (Martin) can get some rest."

--George Zimmerman to a 911 dispatcher the night of the shooting: "This guy looks like he is up to no good -- he is on drugs or something."

--President Barack Obama, earlier in the case: "If I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon."

------

Q: WHY DID IT TAKE SO LONG FOR ZIMMERMAN TO BE ARRESTED?

A: Special prosecutor Angela Corey says that probable cause had to be determined before authorities could arrest Zimmerman. She said there was only a slight delay, when she took it over from the previous prosecutor, who recused himself from the case.

Zimmerman told police he acted in self-defense after Martin pursued and attacked him. Florida is among 21 states with the "stand your ground law," which allows police on the scene to decide whether they believe the self-defense claim.

In many cases, the officers make an arrest and leave it to the courts to work out whether the deadly force is justified. In this case, however, police have said they are confident they did the right thing by not charging Zimmerman.

Q: ON WHAT EVIDENCE IS THE PROSECUTOR BASING THE CHARGE OF SECOND-DEGREE MURDER?

A: Corey did not disclose how she arrived at the charge, saying that was information to be revealed in court.

Q: WHAT'S NEXT?

A: Zimmerman will appear in court within 24 hours, Corey said.

Q: DOES ZIMMERMAN HAVE LEGAL COUNSEL?

A: Yes, Mark O'Mara of Orlando, who became Zimmerman's new attorney after his former lawyers announced Tuesday that they were dropping the case. They said they couldn't keep representing Zimmerman because he had stopped communicating with them.

Q: HOW WILL ZIMMERMAN PLEAD?

A: Not guilty, O'Mara says.

Q: WHAT HAPPENED?

A: Martin, 17, was shot and killed by a single gunshot wound to the chest Feb. 26 during a confrontation with Zimmerman, a 28-year-old neighborhood watch volunteer in a gated community of townhomes in Sanford, Fla., about 20 miles northeast of Orlando.

Zimmerman was driving through the neighborhood when he spotted Martin, who was unarmed and walking to the home of his father's fiancee. She lived in the same gated community as Zimmerman.

Martin was returning from a trip to the convenience store with an iced tea and a bag of Skittles. It was raining, and Martin was walking with the hood of his sweatshirt pulled over his head. He talked to his girlfriend on a cellphone moments before the shooting, according to Martin's family's attorney.

Q: WHAT IS GEORGE ZIMMERMAN'S SIDE OF THE STORY?

A: On his website, therealgeorgezimmerman.com, Zimmerman has described the shooting as "a life altering event" but he says he can't go into details about what happened.

"As a result of the incident and subsequent media coverage, I have been forced to leave my home, my school, my employer, my family and ultimately, my entire life," he said on the site.

Zimmerman told police he spotted Martin as he was driving through his neighborhood and called 911 to report a suspicious person.

He said the teen had his hand in his waistband and was walking around looking at homes.

There had been several break-ins in the community in the past year, including one in which burglars took a TV and laptops.

A dispatcher told Zimmerman he didn't need to follow Martin after Zimmerman got out of his truck and started pursuing the teen.

Zimmerman told police he lost sight of the teenager and was walking back to his vehicle when he was attacked. He and Martin fought, according to witnesses. Zimmerman said Martin punched him in the nose and slammed his head against the ground.

At some point, Zimmerman pulled a gun and shot Martin.

Police said Zimmerman was bleeding from his nose and the back of his head. He told police he had yelled out for help before he shot Martin.

Q: WHAT IS THE MARTIN FAMILY'S SIDE OF THE STORY?

A: Much of Martin's side of the story comes from a cellphone conversation he had with his girlfriend moments before the shooting. She was interviewed by the family's attorney, Benjamin Crump, and he released much of what she said to the news media. She has not been identified.

In the interview, she said Trayvon Martin told her that he was being followed.

"She says: `Run.' He says, `I'm not going to run, I'm just going to walk fast,"' Crump said, quoting the girl.

The girl later heard Martin say, "Why are you following me?" Another man asked, "What are you doing around here?" Crump said.

After Martin encountered Zimmerman, the girl thinks she heard a scuffle "because his voice changes like something interrupted his speech," Crump said. The phone call ended before the girl heard any gunshots.

Martin's parents said their son made the pleas for help that witnesses heard.

Q: WHAT IS GEORGE ZIMMERMAN'S RACIAL AND ETHNIC BACKGROUND?

A: Zimmerman's father is white, and his mother is Hispanic of Peruvian descent.

Q: WHERE IS GEORGE ZIMMERMAN?

A: Zimmerman is in jail in Sanford.

Excerpt from:
Fast Facts: The Zimmerman Case - CBS Miami - CBS News

RUSH: Whos next? Boston. Steve, glad you called. Im glad you waited. Welcome to the program.

CALLER: Hey, Rush, mega dittos. Thanks from the Peoples Republic up here.

RUSH: Thank you very much. Great to have you here.

CALLER: I got a question for you, and I was just wondering: Do you think its possible for this racial divide with the Trayvon thing is originating from the White House? I mean, could that possibly be?

RUSH: Do I think its possible that the racial divide or that the energy, the impetus

CALLER: Yeah.

RUSH: in the racial divide might be coming from the White House?

CALLER: Yeah, as a political means to divide the parties, just like the

RUSH: What would make you?

CALLER: George Stephanopoulos thing with the birth control.

RUSH: What would make you think that, Steve? What possibly?

CALLER: Well, because we havent had Obama is supposed to be the president. He could calm this whole situation down if he just came on and said, Everybodys gotta cool it. Calm down his minions, Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson and

RUSH: But he didnt do that.

CALLER: Reverend Wright. Theyre all coming out of the woodwork.

RUSH: But he didnt do that.

CALLER: No.

RUSH: What Obama said was, If I had a son, hed look like Trayvon. And everybody said, So? But that, widely viewed, is stoking it. Then the New Black Panthers came along and offered a bounty, and nobody said anything about that, nobody criticized that. And then yesterday, did you hear about this? Maybe it was this morning, that Eric Holder actually praised Al Sharpton for his work in the Trayvon Martin case. I kid you not. The attorney general called him Reverend Al, and praised Reverend Al for his great work in the Trayvon Martin case.

Look, let me speak bluntly here, Steve. You gotta be very, very careful. This is why you should not try this at home. Leave it to the trained specialist like me. There is no question that this is coming from the White House. There is no question that the White House wants this kind of chaos and unrest in the culture. They, for some reason, have determined that it is helpful for Obamas reelection, because they believe that they can tie all of this to the existence of Republicans and conservatives, that the racial problems exist because of never-ending racism of the right, never-ending racism of Republicans. Thats why George Zimmerman is called in the New York Times a white Hispanic. There are people in the race industry who became excited that this event took place, because it allowed them to carry forward with their template, that we still are a nation, essentially, with slaves.

You couple that with what I think is a chip on Obamas shoulder about the founding of the country, the ingrained discrimination, his anger over it and his opportunity here now to finally make it right. I dont think theres any doubt. I think at least we could say this. If in the White House they wanted to cool this down, which they should do, they could do it. All it would take, as you said, would be Obama addressing the nation, to calm this down, and then speaking about it in genuine American terms, not racial terms. If they wanted to do that, they could. Other presidents have. Its not happening here. I guarantee you, what everybodys waiting on now is for this state attorney and her decision. Its a powder keg waiting to go off. Nobody, that I can see tell me if Im wrong nobody that I see is doing anything to try to make sure that powder keg doesnt explode whenever this decision is reached, cause no matter what the decision is the potential for an eruption is real on either side. I appreciate the call, Steve.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: Reverend Sharptons group held their meeting today. They had a convention in Washington, the National Action Network convention, and Eric Holder, the attorney general, was there, and we have a couple of sound bites. Heres the first.

HOLDER: Thank you very much, Reverend Al. I appreciate your kind words, and Im especially grateful for your prayers and for your partnership, your friendship, and also for your tireless efforts to speak out for the voiceless, to stand up for the powerless, and to shine a light on the problems we must solve and the promises, the promises that we must fill.

RUSH: Okay. Heres the author of the Tawana Brawley hoax being held up on a pedestal by the attorney general of the United States, who thanks him for his prayers, his partnership, his friendship, and his tireless efforts to speak out for the voiceless. And the attorney general wasnt finished.

HOLDER: I know that many of you are greatly and rightly concerned about the recent shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. Three weeks ago the Department of Justice launched an investigation into this incident, which remains open at this time and prevents me from talking in detail about this matter. However, in recent weeks Justice Department officials, including assistant attorney general for the civil rights division, Tom Perez, have traveled to Sanford, Florida, to meet with the Martin family, the community, and local authorities. The Justice Departments peacemakers are continuing to meet with civil rights leaders, law enforcement officers and area residents to address and to help alleviate community tensions.

RUSH: Justice Department peacemakers? Thats a new one. Justice Department peacemakers. Why didnt he bring in the folks from the UN at the same time? One thing he did, he didnt mention the New Black Panthers. Theyre gonna be ticked. You know, theyre trying to stand up for the voiceless and the powerless and the fearful and the afraid. I know. I know, theyve got a Wanted: Dead or Alive poster. The bounty is still out there from the New Black Panther Party. And the attorney general and his peacemakers from the Department of Justice are on the case in Sanford, Florida, and they made every effort to talk to everybody in this case except I didnt hear him say that he tried to find or reach out to and speak with the Zimmerman family. Speaking of which, Zimmerman, nobody knows where he is. His lawyer last night held a press conference, audio sound bite 13, lets hit it.

SONNER: We want to announce today, as of now were withdrawing as counsel for Mr. Zimmerman. Weve lost contact with him. Up to this point, weve had contact every day. Hes gone on his own. Im not sure what hes doing or who hes talking to, but at this point were withdrawing as counsel. If he wants us to come back as counsel, he will contact us. We had contact as of, I believe, Sunday. In the last couple of days weve lost he has not returned phone calls or text messages or e-mails.

RUSH: Craig Sonner continued. Hes the lawyer.

SONNER: I still believe that he was acting in self-defense that night. Nothing that Ive said about him or this case has changed in any way. I just cant proceed to represent a client who doesnt stay in contact with me.

RUSH: You dont have to tell everybody that. I mean theres still attorney-client privilege here. By that has ticked off Alan Dershowitz at Harvard Law. Weve got the sound bite. I dont have time for it right now, but he says that he is shocked at the behavior of Zimmermans lawyers. But theyre probably scared, too. Theyre human beings. They live in Sanford, Florida, their client is Zimmerman. Youd be a little frightened, too, given all thats going on, the attorney general coming in, holding up and praising Al Sharpton with his peacemakers from the Justice Department. For crying out loud.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: There is breaking news out there, ladies and gentlemen. Florida special prosecutor Angela Corey plans to announce as early as Wednesday afternoon that she is charging neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman in the shooting of Trayvon Martin, according to a law enforcement official close to the investigation. It was not immediately clear what charge Zimmerman will face, but he will be charged by the special prosecutor Angela Corey, who was appointed by the governor, Rick Scott. She was appointed by the governor. She is a state attorney here in the state of Florida.

She announced yesterday she wasnt going to take the case to the grand jury, which everybody then raced to assume it meant she was going to charge him. If youre not gonna charge him, why put the bulls-eye on your back? You know, let that go to the grand jury. So (interruption) But nobody knows where Zimmerman is to hang him, Snerdley. Snerdley thinks that Zimmerman will be hung this week. Nobody knows where he is. Greetings. By the way, this is a scoop from the Washington Post. The Washington Post is who has this. Its their report. Its up on Drudge now. And just repeating: George Zimmerman in the shooting of Trayvon Martin, according to a law enforcement official close to the investigation.

And the blurb is: Florida special prosecutor Angela Corey plans to announce as early as Wednesday afternoon that she is charging neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman in the shooting of Trayvon Martin, according to a law enforcement official close to the investigation. It was not immediately clear what charge Zimmerman will face. It isnt known. On the same day that Eric Holder goes to the National Action Network and praises Al Sharpton for his great work promoting peace and understanding in the community. And the attorney general referred to the peacekeepers at the Department of Justice who are also investigating this travesty of justice in Sanford, Florida.

By the way, a story here from our local NBC Eyeball News affiliate: Community activist Michelle Williams has been going non-stop, talking or just texting on the phone. The hectic day follows the release of audio where Michelle is heard speaking about the Trayvon Martin case. Williams can be heard saying, Let me tell you something, the things that is about to happen to these honkeys, these crackers, these pigs, these pink people, these (beep) people, it has been long overdue,' unquote. Michelle Williams is the chief of staff with the local chapter of the New Black Panther Party.

As a community activist, she has also worked very closely with both the Hillsborough County Sheriffs Office as well as the Tampa Police Department. Whoever did this report for the local NBC affiliate, Channel 5, said, I have interviewed Michelle in the past on community issues, and truth be told was shocked to hear such harsh words coming from her so I asked to sit down with her to give her the opportunity to respond. Michelle would not deny that it was her on the recording. She did say what I had heard, and what is now all over the radio and internet, is just a short part of a much longer dialogue where her anger was building over the issue.

She explained further, with tears in her eyes. Im angry right now. Im angry that we dont have a Justice Department that says we need to change laws. Im angry that we have a Florida Governor that has not made any real statements about this judicial system. Im tired, John. Im tired. She would go on, Thats not me. Thats not my demeanor. And for something so heart-wrenching that I am watching unfold. I have a 17-year-old son. That could have been my son.' So again to repeat, Let me tell you something, the things that is about to happen to these honkeys, these crackers, these pigs, these pink people, these (beep) people, it has been long overdue.

Shes the chief of staff with a local chapter of the New Black Panther Party, and the local NBC reporter says: Oh, shes been as sweet as pie every time Ive ever talked to her! Shes just sweetness and light. I dont know this side of Michelle!

He really is shocked that somebody with the New Black Panther Party would speak this way. Anyway, so thats that. And as information pours in, we will then pour it back out for you. By the way, the parents of Trayvon Martin were just on MSNBC after speaking at Sharptons National Action Network conference, and they called for everybody to respond peacefully to the special prosecutors announcement. Everybody just be peaceful about this. So if youre just joining, if you are a welfare recipient the kind of person Governor Christie was talking about yesterday and youre just now getting up and turning on the radio, the Washington Post says that the special prosecutor, Angela Corey in Florida, will charge George Zimmerman in the death of Trayvon Martin. We dont know what the charge will be. Dont know the nature of the charge.

Grab audio sound bite 15. We played the two sound bites of the lawyer for George Zimmerman, who has now withdrawn, who has pulled out, Craig Sonner. He said: We cant find Zimmerman, dont know where he is; were no longer his lawyers until he calls us. Dershowitz from Harvard Law was on Piers Morgan Tonight last night on CNN, and Piers Morgan said, What was your view as a lawyer of what went down today, these lawyers for Zimmerman basically pulling out?

DERSHOWITZ: I was very upset and very disturbed as a criminal defense lawyer and as somebody who teaches professional responsibility to students. The lawyers cant say that we cant reach him, we dont know where he is, he may or may not be available. He cant say that he called the prosecution. All of these things are covered either by lawyer-client privilege or by the secrets that lawyers are supposed to keep of their clients. And theres been no reason why these lawyers should have appeared on television, held press conferences, and disclosed all of this information. All they had to is quietly say, Were no longer representing the defendant. Our role in the case is over.

RUSH: All right. Doesnt mean much, but still, thats the view from Harvard Law on the attorneys for George Zimmerman. But again, nobody knows where Zimmerman is. The lawyers dont know where he is. They say they dont know where he is; they probably dont. The Trayvon Martin family and the New Black Panthers are worried that Zimmerman has fled the country. They are worried he will never be found. They are worried that he will never be found and therefore he will never face justice; it wont happen. Thats what their big fear is, that somebody has helped George Zimmerman to flee the country. Now, if he fled the country, where would he go, Snerdley?

Where do you think he would go? (interruption) Okay, somewhere where white Hispanics could blend in. Well, that would be Brazil, and Brazil also does not have an extradition treaty with the United States, plus a lot of hot supermodels come from Brazil. Not that that would matter in this instance. But they do. And so it could well be that thats where Zimmerman would go if hes left. Nobody knows where he is. Did you ask me, Why would he leave? (laughing) Thats right. Thats right. Why would he leave? Just has a New Black Panther bounty on his head, a Wanted Dead or Alive poster out there that the peacekeepers at the Department of Justice have not seen fit to condemn.

A lot of people, a lot of people calling for riots if hes not arrested. Michelle Williams from the New Black Panther Party is basically talking whats gonna happen to the pink people. Thats right. Obama said, Yeah, yeah, if I had a son hed look like Trayvon, essentially saying, My son would have been killed. Yeah, Zimmerman, it might have occurred to him that hes not safe. You never know.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: TIME Magazine just tweeted the following. TIME Magazine. Heres the tweet: George Zimmerman had more leeway to shoot Trayvon Martin than a US soldier has to shoot insurgents. Now, what does that mean? George Zimmerman had more leeway to shoot Trayvon Martin than a US soldier has to shoot insurgents. TIME is being purely political and snarky here, but what it probably means is that the rules of engagement and they were going to give medals for courageous restraint in Afghanistan, where our soldiers purposely didnt pull the trigger against the enemy if there was the slightest possibility a civilian casualty would occur. They were thinking of medals for this. Courageous restraint. So what, America is more lawless than war? Shooters in America have more leeway than soldiers in a war? And what is the implication? What a rotten country we are? I mean thats the natural inference from me, given the tweet.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: Maybe thats it. Maybe what TIME Magazine is saying with that idiotic tweet of theirs is that if a US soldier in Iraq had shot a terrorist in the way Zimmerman shot Trayvon Martin, it would have been immediately investigated. Thats probably right. TIME is probably among the legions ticked off that there werent immediate charges against Zimmerman and an immediate conviction and an immediate carrying out of the death sentence. But if a soldier had done this in Iraq, why, hed be investigated and court-martialed and strung up already. No doubt thats what TIME Magazine meant.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: Nah, the announcement, of the charges against Zimmerman is at 6 p.m. Beyond that, well have to wait and see.

Read more from the original source:
Eric Holder Praises Reverend Al Sharpton; Reports Say Zimmerman to be ...

Ten years ago this week, George Zimmerman made national and international headlines after he shot and killed Trayvon Martin, an unarmed Black teenager.

On February 26th 2012, Zimmerman was working at a local gated community in Sanford, Florida, as a crime-watch volunteer when he encountered 17-year-old Martin as he returned to his father's house from the store, where he'd bought some Skittles and iced tea.

Against the advice of a 911 operator, Zimmerman followed Martin, eventually shooting the teenager dead after an altercation. In July 2013, he was found not guilty and was acquitted of his charges, a decision that sparked national outrage and fuelled the birth of the Black Lives Matter movement.

The Justice Department officially closed its investigation into the killing of Martin in February 2015, after the case was deemed not to meet the standards for hate crime prosecution.

In the last decade, Zimmerman's name has become commonplace, and the now 38-year-old has clung onto the case, seemingly as a means of remaining relevant, and has continued to make headlines.

The acquitted killer has not shied away from the courts since the Martin case, and has filed a number of high-profile defamation lawsuits over the past ten years.

In 2019, Zimmerman sued the Martin family, their lawyer and prosecutors for $100 million. In the lawsuit, he claimed he suffered "malicious persecution," and accused Martin's parents and their lawyer of conspiring to impose charges on him.

The lawsuit was tossed by a Florida judge earlier this month.

In 2020 he sued Senator Elizabeth Warren and Pete Buttigieg now the Secretary of Transportation for a whopping $265 million.

Zimmerman claimed the two politicians separately defamed him on Twitter in tweets posted to commemorate what would have been Martin's 25th birthday, despite neither of the tweets mentioning him.

The lawsuit claimed that Warren and Buttigieg did so "for political gain in misguided and malicious attempts to bolster their standings amongst African-American voters, all at Zimmerman's expense."

He also tried to sue the media, unsuccessfully. In June 2014, a Florida judge dismissed a defamation lawsuit Zimmerman filed against NBC in 2012. Zimmerman claimed the story purported that he'd willingly told a 911 operator that Martin was Black.

Besides his lawsuits, Zimmerman has also been involved in a number of efforts over the past ten years designed to profit from his notoriety, from speaking engagements to hundred-thousand dollar auctions.

Perhaps most notable among them was his decision to auction the gun he used to kill Martin with, which sold to an anonymous buyer for $250,000 in 2016.

Zimmerman advertised the firearm as a "piece of American history," though many of his initial listings were removed due to hoax bidders and reticent gun sale sites. UnitedGunGroup.com eventually hosted the auction, with bids starting at $5,000.

In the original auction posting, Zimmerman claimed that "a portion of the proceeds will be used to fight Black Lives Matter violence against Law Enforcement officers, ensure the demise of Angela Corey's persecution career and Hillary Clinton's anti-firearm rhetoric."

Previously, in 2013, Zimmerman had curiously started selling some of his artwork, with a piece featuring the American flag selling for $100,099.99 on eBay. In 2015, he would go on to sell a painting of the confederate flag to raise funds for a Muslim-free gun shop in Florida.

His last reported public appearance was due to take place last November, as he was scheduled to speak at the Lethal Force Gun Laws 2021: Tactics & Strategies Conference at the Riverside Hotel, Idaho.

However, hotel management canceled the event after learning that Zimmerman was due to speak and give a 'step-by-step narrative' of the shooting that killed Martin.

In a statement, management said: "We recognize the immense pain that George Zimmerman has inflicted on many of our guests, team-members and community. With their respect and safety as our priority, we have canceled the event. We are unequivocally opposed to providing George Zimmerman a platform and he is not welcome at The Riverside Hotel."

Legal troubles seem to follow Zimmerman, and in the months following his acquittal he was pulled over numerous times for speeding, although he only once received a ticket when he was fined $265 in Lake Mary, Florida.

In 2014 he found himself in hot water when he was involved in a road rage incident. Zimmerman reportedly followed a driver into a gas station after a heated exchange, and as he tried to call 911, Zimmerman threatened to kill himgun in hand. He then appeared at the man's workplace two days later. No charges were pressed.

In 2016, a man was sentenced to 20 years in prison for shooting into Zimmerman's truck, narrowly missing him. Matthew Apperson was convicted of second-degree attempted murder despite claiming he was acting in self-defense after Zimmerman pointed a gun at him.

His personal life was also riddled with altercations and encounters with law enforcement.

In September 2013, Zimmerman's then-wife filed for divorce. A few days later, she called 911 after Zimmerman allegedly punched her father in the face and threatened to kill her family. He was taken into custody but no charges were filed.

A few months later, in November that year, Zimmerman was charged with aggravated assault after he allegedly pointed a shotgun at his new girlfriend. He was released on bail the following day, and his partner recanted her statement and dropped all domestic violence charges the following month.

The acquitted killer had another run in with the law in January 2015, when he was arrested for aggravated assault after allegedly attacking his then-girlfriend with a bottle of wine. As with many of his prior incidents, no charges were filed.

Zimmerman was also banned from dating apps such as Tinder and Bumble.

He continued to find himself in the limelight, and even agreed to fight the rapper DMX in a celebrity boxing match in 2015. The fight would go on to be canceled.

That was not his only encounter with entertainment heavy-hitters, as he threatened to "beat" rapper Jay-Z and feed him "to an alligator" in 2017, after he learnt that the musician would be producing a documentary and feature film about Martin.

His feud with Jay-Z continued, as a year later he allegedly threatened the rapper and his wife, pop superstar Beyonc, warning he would be "bringing hell" upon the couple.

In text messages sent to private investigator Dennis Warren, Zimmerman once again threatened to feed the pair to a "13 foot gator," as well as levelling insults at the celebrity duo.

"Oh yea and tell Jay-Z he's a bitch and his wife's a broke whore," one of the messages read.

Zimmerman was also charged with misdemeanor stalking and harassing Warren, who worked on the Jay-Z documentary. Over the course of nine days, he had called Warren 55 times, left 36 voicemails and sent him over 65 texts.

Newsweek approached Zimmerman's family for comment.

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George Zimmerman's Bizarre Life Since Trayvon Martin's ... - Newsweek

Marc Wilson claims he fired his gun out of self-defense after a group of teens yelled racial slurs and tried to run him off the road in Statesboro, Georgia, in June 2020. Photo courtesy of Wilson's family

Late one night in June 2020, William Marcus Wilson, a 21-year-old Black man, fired his legal handgun at a pickup truck full of teenagers after some of the teens allegedly called him a racial slur and tried to run him and his white girlfriend off the road in Statesboro, Georgia. The next day, Wilson learned that one of those bullets struck and killed 17-year-old Haley Hutcheson, who was in the backseat of the truck.

This week, Wilson, who goes by the name Marc, is on trial for felony murder and aggravated assault, which carries a life sentence and the possibility of the death penalty. Wilson and his legal team are arguing that despite the tragic events, Wilson was left with no option but to stand his ground to ensure his safety, as well as that of his girlfriend.

Me and my girlfriend were very scared that night, Wilson told a detective after the shooting. A truck full ofall I saw were white maleswhite males driving their car at me and are flipping me off and yelling racial slurs.

Self-defense claims led to acquittals for Kenosha shooter Kyle Rittenhouse and George Zimmerman, who killed Trayvon Martin. But this is a rare case of a Black man using a stand your ground defense, and the historical data does not point in his favor.

Wilsons trial is a particularly interesting case because its a dynamic of a self-defense case that we haven't seen, Melissa Redmon, the prosecutorial justice program director at the University of Georgias School of Law and a former Fulton County district attorney, told VICE News. It's something that should be watched closely to make sure that Marcus Wilson is afforded the same consideration and support that other [defendants] who have alleged self-defense have gotten.

Fearing for his life

At around 1 a.m. on June 14, 2020, Wilson and his then-girlfriend Emma Rigdon, who is white, were driving away from a Taco Bell in Statesboro. At a stoplight, they pulled up next to a pickup truck. According to Wilsons defense team, Wilson said two male teens in the truck leaned out of the window and called Rigdon a n----- -loving bitch, and shouted, Your lives dont matter!

Wilson later told police that when the light turned green, the pickup truck swerved in front of them and tried to knock his car off the road. Wilson said the males in the truck were leaning out the window screaming more racial slurs while flashing middle fingers at them.

It was just weeks after the murder of George Floyd, and Wilson said he was already feeling nervous, so he pulled out a gun and fired two warning shots at the truck.

He said he heard a loud sound that made him think they might be shooting back at him or ramming his vehicle.

Fearing for his life, Wilson said he fired his gun once more at the truck. That bullet struck and killed Hutcheson.

When Wilson found out the next day that one of the passengers of the truck had been killed, he turned himself in. He was denied bail after Ogeechee Circuit Superior Court Judge Michael Muldrew, who originally presided over the case, said Wilson posed a significant threat to the persons in the community, despite having no criminal record.

In February, Muldrew was recused from presiding over the trial; the defense claimed he met with two of the prosecuting attorneys in private and allowed them to view emails Wilson sent to his family. Muldrew was replaced with Judge Ronnie Thompson, who granted Wilson his release on a $100,000 bond.

However, Thompson ruled that Wilsons case was not airtight enough to grant him immunity from the charges under Georgias stand your ground laws.

And the teens tell a different story, one that says Wilson never had a claim to self-defense and that they did not yell out racial slurs. They told police they thought Rigdon was a classmate theyd seen earlier that night who also has a Black boyfriend. In opening statements, Chief Assistant District Attorney Barclay Black said that no matter what happened before the shooting, Wilson was wrong to escalate the encounter by using deadly force, and his decision to do so resulted in the death of an innocent person.

As we proceed through that evidence one thing is going to ring true through this whole trial, Black said Wednesday, according to the Statesboro Herald. That is no matter what gets thrown around this courtroom, no matter what fingers get pointed at anybody, Haley Hutcheson didnt do a doggone thing to anybody, except get a bullet in the back of her head.

Since the incident, the teens memories of that night have been called into question. All four admitted to drinking alcohol as they drove around town. In their investigation, police found beer cans at the scene that match the brand they were drinking, with investigators believing that the loud noise Wilson heard was likely a can that was thrown at his car. And at least one of the police reports written by a Statesboro detective reads that one of the teens, Luke Conley, was seen by a witness yelling out of his window right before the shooting.

Additionally, Conley is currently facing charges of obstruction of justice for withholding information and providing conflicting statements about who he saw in Wilsons car. A month prior to the shooting, Conley was also arrested on charges of driving under the influence and a hit-and-run. Neither case has been litigated, according to Georgia court records.

Race matters

The defense, led by former Georgia NAACP president and attorney Francys Johnson, argues that despite the tragic death of Hutcheson, Wilson responded reasonably.

This case is about how Emma Rigdon and William Marcus Wilson missed their early graves when they decided to go on a late-night run to Taco Bell, Johnson said during his opening statement Wednesday.

Since Johnson took on the case in July 2020, hes been blunt about his belief that race has played a major role in how this case has been perceived.

We believe that if Marc Wilson was a white gentlemen that night, accosted by a truckload of angry, belligerent, possibly drunk Black men, and he used a legally possessed firearm to defend himself and his passenger, that he would have been given a medal and not given a prosecution, he told reporters during a Zoom call at the time, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Data backs Johnsons belief. Stand your ground laws, which give legal gun owners the legal grounds to use deadly force when threatened regardless if there are non-lethal options available, exist in some form across 37 states, according to the Giffords Center, including in Georgia.

But from 2005 to 2010, the first five years after stand your ground laws were introduced, just 11 percent of cases involving a Black shooter invoking stand your ground and white victim were deemed justified, according to a 2020 study by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, compared to 45 percent of cases involving a Black victim and a white shooter.

One of the most famous cases of stand your ground being used successfully was in 2013, when George Zimmerman, the man who shot and killed Trayvon Martin, a Black 17-year-old who was walking home through Zimmermans neighborhood, was acquitted. Zimmerman successfully claimed he felt threatened by Martin, despite initiating the interaction by following him through the neighborhood.

And just two months after Huchesons death, in August 2020, Kyle Rittenhouse, 18, shot and killed two people and injured a third during protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin. He was found not guilty on all charges including intentional homicide. The white teen successfully claimed self-defense, arguing that he had little choice but to use deadly force when confronted by protesters both at a car dealership he says he was trying to protect, and people who tried to disarm him after the initial shooting.

But that trend may be changing. Last November, Greg and Travis McMichael failed to convince a Georgia jury that they acted in self-defense when they shot and killed Ahmaud Arbery, a Black 25-year-old jogger who they suspected was a burglar in their neighborhood. They were both sentenced to life in prison.

Redmon said that the impact the Arbery case had about who can claim self-defense is very likely to loom over the jury in this case, in a way that will possibly benefit Wilson.

The McMichaels prevented Arbery from disengaging. Here, you have the exact opposite: a couple going about their business and the victims initiating the contact and being antagonistic towards them, Redmon said. When we think about self-defense, we typically think about someone coming at you and you having to defend yourself as opposed to you initiating an encounter and it [going] wrong.

But it doesnt mean that there wont be hurdles to overcome for the defense.

When someone is deceased, most citizens are going to look to what could have been done to prevent this. That's the difficulty in getting them to accept a self-defense defense in most cases, Redmon said. In this case, you have the deceased victim who in a sense was an innocent bystander in that she wasn't driving the truck.

Ultimately, it will come down to which version of events the jury will ultimately believe.

The state is going to focus on the reasonableness and whether or not that fear and his subsequent actions were reasonable, Redmon said. The other thing is the credibility and which version of events is most likely to be true. Both sides will have to convince the jury which version of events actually happened.

The jury selected to decide the case is made up of eight white males, four white females, two Black females, and one Hispanic male. The jurors range in age from 20 to 70. The trial is expected to last through to the beginning of next week.

Follow Trone Dowd on Twitter.

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Black Man Charged With Murder of White Teen Says He Was Standing His Ground - VICE