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Published February 24, 2015

FILE - This Jan. 10, 2015, booking file photo provided by the Seminole County Public Affairs shows George Zimmerman. The U.S. Justice Department said Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2015, that the former neighborhood watch volunteer will not face federal charges in the shooting death of unarmed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. Zimmerman was acquitted in 2013 of second-degree murder. (AP Photo/Seminole County Public Affairs, File)(The Associated Press)

WASHINGTON The Justice Department says George Zimmerman will not face federal civil rights charges in the 2012 shooting death of Trayvon Martin.

The department announced its decision Tuesday, saying that there was not enough evidence to bring federal civil rights charges, which would have required proof that the killing was motivated by racial animosity.

Zimmerman, a former neighborhood watch volunteer, was acquitted of second-degree murder in July 2013. He has said he shot Martin in self-defense during a confrontation inside a gated community in Sanford, Florida.

The case created a national conversation about race and self-defense gun laws. Martin, who was unarmed when he was killed, was black. The teen's relatives have accused Zimmerman of starting the fight and racially profiling Martin. .

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Justice Department: George Zimmerman will not face federal charges in death of Trayvon Martin